Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty
Chapter 242 Fruitful
Chapter 242 Fruitful
Zhu Cilang never expected that Dorgon would be desperate and try all kinds of remedies, thinking of attacking Jiangbei and using it to disrupt the finances of the Dingwu court, and even put this action at the strategic priority.
It can only be said that Dorgon was helpless and on the verge of despair when facing the Ming Dynasty at this time, but he still retained a certain strategic insight and accurately found the only loophole in the Ming Dynasty's current defense.
But for the overall situation, such an attack will obviously not have any reversal effect.
At this time, Zhu Cilang was preparing to train the army. In the next year, he would complete two major tasks: fully staffing the Xiaoqi Army and expanding the Tianqi Army in preparation for the Northern Expedition.
The final decisive battle between the Ming and Qing dynasties is inevitable!
Moreover, for the Qing court, this war was definitely a battle that directly determined its fate.
Otherwise, Dorgon would not have been so anxious and reckless, and Duoduo would not have thought of leaving the country directly. He would have liked to live as many years as possible.
After all, the Eight Banners were the foundation of the Qing court, and all forces must be deployed in the next decisive battle.
If this fails, the Qing Dynasty will definitely be completely destroyed.
They had already seen Zhu Cilang's strength. He was a Han emperor who could defeat the three kings of the Qing Dynasty in succession.
Otherwise, how could the situation have reached its current state?
But for the Ming Dynasty, this war was not enough to determine the country's destiny for hundreds of years.
Zhu Cilang is no longer just controlling one province, but now controls the entire south, including the Huai River, the Han River, the entire Sichuan, and Shaanxi, which is about to be recovered.
This can be said to be a huge behemoth for the Qing court at that time.
If the second Northern Expedition next year is unsuccessful, the Ming Dynasty can launch the third and fourth Northern Expeditions, just like the previous several times.
You know, after more than four years of reforms by Zhu Cilang, all the prefectures under the Ming Dynasty have undergone earth-shaking changes.
Even if the various units of the Palace Army lost most of their troops in a major battle, Zhu Cilang could rely on this entire advanced system to recover quickly.
Now Jiangbei, Xiangyang and other places are building fortresses. Even if the Qing army can win, it will be difficult to advance directly.
If the Qing army was defeated, it would inevitably lose its elite troops and be destroyed.
But now, everyone knows that there will be a life-and-death battle between the Ming and Qing dynasties in the second year. This is due to the situation.
Southeast of Hanyang City, at the dock near the mouth of the Han River, Zhu Cilang, Zhou Shixian and Zhang Huangyan disembarked one after another surrounded by a large group of imperial guards.
This was the second stop for Zhu Cilang on his way back to Beijing to inspect and assess the construction achievements in various places, and it was also a key site for the construction achievements of Huguang.
Now, the one stationed in Hanyang was the left garrison commander Ma Jinzhong, but Admiral Ma Shixiu also came from Wuchang with a group of his officers to welcome him.
Along with them came the civil affairs and industrial and commercial officials deployed by Du Yinxi in Hanyang. These two areas were the focus of Zhu Cilang's inspection.
After Zhu Cilang and others landed, they rode their horses at full speed accompanied by Du Yinxi, Ma Shixiu, and Ma Jinzhong, and quickly entered the city.
The originally dilapidated city walls of Hanyang have now been basically repaired, and a number of sturdy fortresses have been built outside the city.
If the situation deteriorates in the future and the Qing army moves south to attack Hankou, this fortress will be able to effectively cover the retreat of troops and the transfer of supplies towards the port, and become a bridgehead to block the Qing army.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty did not build many fortresses near Hanyang.
After all, everyone can see the current situation clearly.
In other words, Zhu Cilang had already made plans for the worst. Even if the Northern Expedition failed, he could stabilize the basic situation and start over again.
This is the complete and powerful system he built step by step.
Zhu Cilang rode his horse around to the northern section of Hanyang City's wall, where nearly a thousand laborers were busy working.
The mud and sandbags they used were the mud dug out after the moat was dredged, which was directly recycled into materials for repairing the earth walls.
After this series of reforms, Zhu Cilang had no doubt that even if the Qing army could reach Hanyang, it would eventually suffer heavy losses and retreat in disgrace, just like before in Jiangbei.
The four walls of Hanyang City were also renovated with the addition of battlements and earthen walls.
Although the city was not big, because there were too many soldiers and horses to support, some of the people had to be relocated, and there were not many civilians who could be recruited, so thousands of prisoners were used for this purpose.
However, according to the construction plan jointly formulated by the Military Affairs Department and the Construction Department, the renovation of Hanyang City has entered the final stage, and the fortifications in various places are not far from final completion.
Due to the heavy loss of population in the surrounding area and its important geographical location, the renovated Hanyang City is not only stronger than before, but the entire city has actually become a large military camp.
The streets and alleys in the city were redivided, and most of them became barracks for the soldiers. The rest were basically occupied by civilians who settled in the fields, craftsmen in the weapons workshops, laborers and prisoners who built fortifications, and civil and industrial and commercial officials who supplied materials.
In other words, everyone in Hanyang City today is either an officer or a soldier of the army, or serves the army.
In the future, they will also support the foundation of tens of thousands of field troops and Tianqi troops in Huguang.
Under the guidance of Zhu Cilang's idea of making full use of resources, the Ming Dynasty also made full use of captives and surrendered soldiers.
Of course, if they were real Manchu Tartars, they would basically have no chance of survival unless they gave out core military intelligence.
But if they are Green Camp soldiers, as long as they are not criminals or extremely evil, after labor reform, most of them can become settlers with a piece of land under the Meiji rule, and even those with good performance can join the army.
However, those baoyi soldiers who served in the army and were eventually captured needed to be carefully identified.
During this southern expedition, almost every family of the Eight Banner Army brought baoyi with them. Some of the baoyi's weapons and equipment were even better than those of the Green Camp Army. These were basically old slaves who had shaved their heads and surrendered before the Qing army entered the pass.
They have now become the supervisors of the bannermen who manage the baoyi. They have gained huge profits by relying on the Eight Banners to grab land. A considerable number of them have the same fighting spirit as the Eight Banners soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is comparable to that of the vassal soldiers.
Others were baoyi who served as human shields and laborers in the army. They were also people with miserable lives. Basically, they were the people who were plundered when the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains to grab land.
Their hatred for the Qing Dynasty was no less than anyone else's, but they had no organization, could not resist, and could only live in disgrace.
The former would naturally be executed! The latter would also need to be screened. Those with relatives still in the north would be strictly monitored and subjected to labor reform. Meanwhile, those single men whose entire families had been wiped out could be recruited into the army and newly built villages. They held a deep-seated feud with the Qing Dynasty, and once organized, their combat effectiveness would be extremely strong!
After seeing the repairs of the outer city wall, Zhu Cilang also visited the military farms outside the city that were specially used for training cavalrymen from the Xiaoqi Battalion and the Iron Cavalry Battalion, where soybeans, alfalfa and other horse feed were grown.
After the imperial army recaptured the prefectures of Huguang, it gained more land.
Due to insufficient population, grain could not be grown quickly in Huguang, so many settlers chose to grow horse feed, which greatly eased the supply of horse feed for the cavalry.
After Zhu Cilang entered the city, he listened to the report on military training by Ma Jinzhong and Ma Shixiu in the county government office in Hanyang City.
At this time, the Jinyiwei had already sent back news from Northern Zhili. Because of the change in the situation, Dorgon mobilized troops again, and it was very likely that he would attack the south again, but it was not known which direction he would attack.
At the same time, with Jirgalang personally collecting taxes and fees, Shanxi and Northern Zhili successfully organized more than 10,000 Green Camp troops, and these troops would most likely be sent to the south.
In other words, although the Jinyiwei knew that the Qing court had taken action again, they could not find out the specific number of troops.
After the failure of the "Southern Expedition", Dorgon's original deployment was completely disrupted.
According to the Five Military Commanderies Office, the Qing army will most likely not survive next year's decisive battle.
Zhu Cilang originally wanted to train the cavalry's aggressiveness by sending the Tianqi Army and the Xiaoqi Army to harass the Eight Banners Army and engage in combat with the cavalry. At the same time, he wanted to understand the field combat characteristics of the Qing cavalry and formulate more effective training methods and response strategies for the subsequent decisive battle.
But Dorgon had already lost his courage and did not even dare to dream of restoring morale by winning some small victories and curbing the offensive of the Ming army.
Zhu Cilang naturally knew this after listening to countless deductions by Zhang Huangyan and the Five Military Commandery.
However, he had no plans to proactively send troops north before the Northern Expedition. The main force would have to wait until next year, and he was only here to get the latest information.
"Huang Degong and Gao Jie have already sent a third memorial, both seeking to confirm whether Your Majesty will march from Jiangbei next year. In their letter, they stated that the Qing army in Shandong suffered heavy losses, and the Qing court showed no signs of replenishing them.
Now, they have basically figured out the strength of the defenders in Jinan and other places. If they fight again next year, they will surely be able to capture these cities in one fell swoop."
"This is beyond my expectation." Zhu Cilang smiled, but he still had an idea of the situation.
"Although Dorgon's performance in the southern expedition has been poor since entering the Pass, don't underestimate him, and don't underestimate his strategic vision. He has a clear understanding of the importance of Shandong, Henan and other places."
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Dorgon is a very cautious person. As long as the Qing army still occupies places like Jinan and Dongchang, it will be difficult to break through the canal directly." Chang Denggui also analyzed.
During this period, he followed the Five Military Commandery to study the wars commanded by Dorgon over the years, and had basically figured out this man's temperament.
This is the benefit of further refining the functions of the Five Military Commandery and evolving it into a general staff, completing the professional division of labor.
All departments and divisions are working together to conduct in-depth research on military affairs and the enemy, which will one day be reflected in the war.
"That's right, this is why I dare to mobilize the main force of Huguang."
Zhu Cilang nodded and gave Chang Denggui, his trusted general who had made rapid progress, an admiring look:
"After so many years, you all have a good idea of Dorgon's strength and the current strength of the Qing army. He must no longer be so sure that he can defeat us."
Everyone in the room naturally understood what Zhu Cilang meant. The most important thing for them now was to improve internal affairs and prepare for the Northern Expedition. Other matters, such as military affairs in Jiangbei, could be put aside for the time being.
After saying this, Zhu Cilang looked at Zhou Shixian and asked:
"What's happening with the Zheng family in Fujian now?"
"Your Majesty, the Zheng family has become much more well-behaved now. After being warned last time, and especially after Zheng Sen returned to Fujian, they have become more restrained.
The court is now purchasing from them, and even if there are requests, they will just agree to them. Of course, there are still some small tricks behind the scenes, but they are not a big problem. "
Zhou Shixian finished speaking with his hands clasped together, then changed the subject and flattered Zhu Cilang:
"Your Majesty is indeed a prophet. Zheng Zhilong is indeed as Your Majesty suspected. He is now competing with his own son and dares not put in any effort. His hands are both made of flesh and blood."
"It doesn't matter what Zheng Zhilong's attitude is now. As long as we win the Northern Expedition, the Zheng family will not dare to disobey the court in any way." Zhu Cilang said with a sinister smile.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. I have already figured out the details of the Zheng family. Zheng Zhilong has been operating on the sea for many years. Although it is a bit difficult to deal with, it is not unsolvable."
Zhou Shixian was full of confidence and said in a firm tone:
"Moreover, the imperial court is now spending money generously. After seeing the benefits the Portuguese in Macau have gained, the Spanish and Japanese have also taken the initiative to move closer to us. We can then take advantage of the Red Hair forces. They are actually happy to see the Zheng family attacked, especially the Portuguese, who have finally breathed a sigh of relief with our support in the past two years."
The size of the Ming Dynasty determines its influence and strength in overseas trade, which is definitely not comparable to that of the Zheng family.
At the same time, because of the huge amount of silver imported through war and trade, its strong purchasing power has already brought it considerable political benefits.
All these have made the Ming Dynasty court very powerful at present. Although it has not yet finally confirmed its unshakable power in East Asia through war, no one dares to take the initiative to use force against this behemoth.
"Your Majesty, do you wish to dispatch the Zheng family's navy north to assist in the battle and make up for the lack of forces left by Zhang Mingzhen and Huang Fei?"
Zhang Huangyan reacted immediately.
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Zhu Cilang. Du Yinxi and Chang Denggui were a little surprised, while Zhou Shixian seemed to have suddenly figured it out.
The Zheng family is so important in maritime trade, so it is normal for Your Majesty to ask a question, but asking at this time seems to have other deeper meanings.
Zhu Cilang nodded directly and said:
“Although the Fujian Navy has been mobilized twice, there is no need for such a large force to remain behind. We must always maintain the vitality of the Liaohai front and contain the Qing army.
Now Zhang Mingzhen needs troops to reinforce his army, so it's a good opportunity to transfer the Zheng family's navy north."
There is no doubt that the Northern Expedition has become the top priority of the Ming Dynasty at this time. They are not surprised by what Zhu Cilang said.
You know, with the Liaohai Sea as a distraction, the Qing army could not devote all its efforts to dealing with the Northern Expedition.
Of course, the most important of all these things is actually the cavalry.
(End of this chapter)
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