Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 247 The Situation in the North

After Zhu Cilang finished deploying the battle on the flank, he looked at Zhang Huangyan in the big tent and said:
"Xuanzhu, please tell me about the specific situation of Yanzhou City that the vanguard scouts have discovered."

Zhang Huangyan obeyed the order and immediately bowed to Zhu Cilang and reported:

"Your Majesty, the Qing army began fortifying Yanzhou City two years ago, conscripting over 100,000 civilians. The walls of Yanzhou City have now been raised to over 16 feet on all four sides, and the thickness has been increased by more than two layers, especially on the southeastern wall facing the river.

The already wide moats to the south, north, and east of the city were further widened and thickened by several feet, and now it has become a fortified city like Jinan."

Yanzhou City is nestled between mountains and rivers, with two rivers running through it. The city walls are built on the mountainside, making very rational use of the surrounding mountains and rivers. If there are sufficient troops and horses, ample food and grass, and reasonable management, it can be said to be "impregnable".

However, Yanzhou City, which was once crowded with merchants and extremely prosperous, is the same as other cities in Shandong.

After more than ten years of war, there is no life left except for the thousands of Qing troops stationed here and tens of thousands of strong and capable laborers forcibly conscripted.

After nearly two years of repeated battles and continuous brutal scout battles, Gao Jie even personally led his troops out several times. The villages in Yanzhou Prefecture have long been extremely dilapidated, with abandoned villages and barren fields everywhere, and there are basically no civilians in the surrounding areas.

Not only that, even in the north, the originally fertile Jinan Plain has become desolate and dilapidated due to the protracted war.

The Ming generals listened to Zhang Huangyan's introduction, each with their own thoughts in their minds. Some literate ones even wrote down some key points.

Now, the changes in Yanzhou City have far exceeded their imagination. The gains and losses of this city are related to the success or failure of the strategic goals of the first phase of the Northern Expedition. They all want to take this opportunity to make great contributions.

Zhang Huangyan pointed to the location west of Yanzhou City on the map and reminded:

"The Qing army seemed to have taken special precautions against the waterfront area west of Yanzhou City. Not only had the city wall on the west side been thickened by three layers, but they had also set up numerous underwater traps outside the wall, making it difficult for the navy to approach. A large number of artillery pieces were also deployed on top of the wall.

According to information gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Qing army deployed more than 5,000 soldiers and horses in Yanzhou City, including more than 1,500 elite Eight Banner soldiers, more than a thousand elite Baoyi soldiers, and more than 3,000 Green Camp soldiers, many of whom were from Shanxi.

Furthermore, some of the elite baoyi soldiers within the city also seem to be musketeers. The muskets they wield are different from those of the ordinary Qing troops, but the specific details are not yet clear, nor is their number.

"Dorgon dared to place 20,000 troops in the city. Isn't he afraid that we will dig trenches and build walls outside the city, trapping these soldiers to death?"

After hearing this, Chang Denggui suddenly spoke up and asked:

"Could it be that there is so much food in Yanzhou City?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals in the big tent nodded, then whispered to each other and discussed in low voices.

The Qing army deployed 5,000 troops in the city, so there would naturally be no shortage of civilian laborers. With these 20,000 to 30,000 people and war horses in the city, the amount of food and fodder consumed every day was not a small amount.

However, Zhu Cilang didn't seem to care about this. He immediately winked at Zhang Huangyan and said:

"Xuan Zhu, continue."

Zhang Huangyan nodded, and then said:
"The Qing army had been preparing in Shandong for nearly two years. Dorgon and his men had definitely thought of this. After the restoration and expansion of Yanzhou City, the circumference was more than ten miles. Such a huge city could accommodate 20,000 to 30,000 people and store food and fodder for a year, or even two years.

Furthermore, Yanzhou City's geographical location is crucial. The Qing troops stationed there account for less than 30% of the Qing troops stationed in Shandong. Jining City, on the canal, also has several thousand Qing troops, but the Jinyiwei are understaffed, and their composition is unknown."

"Chief Instructor Zhang, what about the musketeers you just mentioned? Why did you mention them separately?" Chen Fu hesitated for a moment and finally raised the question.

The Qing court attached great importance to this newly formed musketeer force and kept it strictly confidential. With the intelligence system of that era, the Jinyiwei only noticed some details thanks to the recent frequent dispatches of the Qing army, but their understanding was very limited.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang turned his head and looked at Zhou Shixian, saying:

"Shixian, does the Jinyiwei have the latest intelligence?"

Zhou Shixian immediately bowed to Zhu Cilang and said:

"Your Majesty, this Qing army was discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guards within the past month. They're not just in Yanzhou City, but also in Beijing, Jinan, and even Nanyang. I've already sent additional personnel into the heart of Shandong and Henan for further reconnaissance."

"How much information do we know so far? What are the characteristics of this musketeer group?" Zhu Cilang then asked. He has always attached great importance to firearms.

In fact, he had already seen the relevant news in the military report submitted by Zhou Shixian, but the situation was unclear at that time and he was busy preparing for the Northern Expedition, so he did not pay much attention to it.

And now, it was Chen Fu's question that woke Zhu Cilang up and made him realize that the situation might not be that simple.

You know, the Qing court had suffered a great loss in firearms before, so this would definitely attract the attention of the Qing court.

Zhu Cilang actually estimated that this mysterious musketeer group composed of the Eight Banners bondsers were specially trained by the Qing court to deal with the palace army's firearms units.

Therefore, he had to find out their origins as soon as possible, especially their equipment.

"This musketeer force seems to be composed entirely of baoyi soldiers, but there are also some Eight Banners soldiers among them, especially the Han Eight Banners."

Zhou Shixian recalled and continued:
"Also, the biggest difference between them and the other Qing troops is that the muskets they wield seem particularly large and heavy, but they're not the kind with dove-foot muskets. The Jinyiwei heard some information from some Green Camp soldiers, but it's basically groundless and unreliable."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang had a rough idea in his mind, and his expression soon calmed down.

However, the Qing army's disadvantages could not be changed by a firearms unit.

Therefore, after Zhou Shixian finished speaking, this military information did not attract special attention from other generals in the tent. Everyone's focus was still on the defense situation of Yanzhou City.

After all, in previous wars, the Ming army had always had an advantage in firearms equipment, and it made full use of this advantage to restrain the Qing army's cavalry and won several wars.

Nowadays, the rate of musket equipment in the Palace Army has been around 40%, and almost all of the muskets they are equipped with are the latest new muskets produced by the Ordnance Bureau, with first-class quality.

Although the Qing court still has a certain strength, the troops deployed on the front line are no longer superior to the Palace Army.

Then, Zhu Cilang turned his head and looked at Zhang Huangyan again, saying:

"Xuan Zhu, please continue to tell us about the military situation in Shandong!" "Your Majesty, most of the scouts that my army sent out earlier have now returned.

Currently, no Qing reinforcements have been spotted around Yanzhou City and Jining City."

Zhang Huangyan received the order and continued to clasp his fists and said:
"Commander-in-Chief Lin has already led his troops north. Judging by the time, he should have captured the surrounding cities on the southern side of Yanzhou by now.

However, most of the Qing troops that retreated from these places retreated to Jining and Yanzhou City, and it is likely that these two cities will be difficult to capture for a while."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang said with a serious expression:
"The most important thing now is speed. Gao Jie, Huang Degong, you on the flanks, step up your actions and continue your feint attacks to disrupt the Qing army's judgment!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Gao Jie and Huang Degong bowed and clasped their hands.

"Your Majesty, from Nanyang, Tian Jianxiu has reported that Ajige has sent his subordinate Chen Tai to lead the vanguard into Xinye and other cities. The main force of the Qing army on the western front may still attack Xiangyang."

The bamboo stick in Zhang Huangyan's hand pointed to the Nanyang Road on the map:
"Liu Tichun and Ma Shixiu led their troops north. If they were to confront Ajige directly, I'm afraid most of the Qing troops would not collapse without a fight. Currently, tens of thousands of Qing troops have gathered in a corner of Nanyang. The city is well-managed. I'm afraid that these two armies will find it difficult to effectively contain Nanyang City!"

"Is there any new news from Shaanxi? How is Gao Yigong? Hasn't he opened up a new route yet to attack Shanxi?" Zhu Cilang looked at the map, paused, and asked in a cold voice.

Zhang Huangyan shook his head: "Gao Yigong seems to have made no progress at the moment."

At present, except for those generals who had long intended to rebel, there was no news from the rest of the Qing army Green Camp in various prefectures of Shanxi. Jirgalang was in charge personally and said that it had a great deterrent effect, especially since Jiang Xiang was completely under control.

However, Zhu Cilang could only accept this reality for the time being.

In order to disrupt the Qing army's judgment and deployment and force the Qing army to send reinforcements elsewhere, he immediately ordered the Five Army Headquarters to ask Gao Yigong to intensify the offensive against Shanxi.

After Shaanxi and other places were recovered by the Ming Dynasty, due to the long distance and the obstruction of mountains and rivers, the military intelligence transmission system temporarily established relying on official roads took more than ten days to transmit military intelligence from the front line back and forth, which greatly affected Zhu Cilang's command.

"Although the Qing army has defenses in Shanxi, it is just a last-ditch effort. We can rest assured in Shandong and fight a decisive battle with the Qing army."

After Zhu Cilang understood the situation of all parties, he immediately said:

"All departments should act according to their original plans, build achievements, support the country, and restore our homeland. Now is the time!"

Zhu Cilang had made sufficient preparations for this Northern Expedition.

Li Banghua requisitioned in advance most of the merchant ships that were originally intended to be sent to Southeast Asia and Japan for trade to transport soldiers and supplies for the army, especially the huge cannons needed for sieges.

The original expedition plan of the Five Military Commandery was mainly based on the consideration of manpower for spring plowing and the cost of marching. It advocated that the various units of the Palace Army could land south of the Daqing River and planned to gain a foothold at the mouth of the Daqing River, with the various armies advancing by sea.

In this way, not only could the Qing army be caught off guard, but they could also be directly outflanked from the rear, thus avoiding the need to capture Yanzhou and Jining.

But after weighing the pros and cons, Zhu Cilang decided to march north from Yanzhou Prefecture and ordered the various units of the Palace Army to enter the battlefield by land.

After all, the newly recovered areas in the north were not yet stable enough. Zhu Cilang hoped to use this marching opportunity to demonstrate the military might of the Ming Dynasty to the local gentry and powerful people who were ready to make trouble.

At the same time, the armies on the western and northern fronts will also set out at the same time.

Among them, the main force on the northern line quickly passed through the mountain valleys of northern Shaanxi and entered Shanxi. After capturing the cities along the Yellow River and gaining a foothold, they would continue to advance eastward.

The main force of the central army, led by the admiral Chang Denggui, will march north in advance after the army surrounds the Yanzhou city.

A small city like Yanzhou is not worth the main force of the Northern Expedition defending to the death.

In Zhu Cilang's plan, he would lead his troops to the Jinan front first, and occupy Lishan, Fangshan and other places south of Jinan City, and even directly enter the plains south of the Daqing River.

By then, Lin Changfeng's cavalry will be in the center to support and assist the central army in repelling the Qing army's surprise attack in the city.

However, Zhu Cilang speculated that the Qing defenders in Jinan might abandon their harassment tactics, calm down completely, and defend the city obediently.

The Yangtze River and Zhejiang Navy in the Jiaodong area also went north earlier than Zhu Cilang. Zhang Mingzhen will send troops to control the mouth of the Daqing River as planned to contain the actions of the Qing army.

In other words, by the time Zhu Cilang led the main force of tens of thousands, including the Left Army of the Palace Front, the Cavalry Army, the Heavenly Cavalry Army, and the Three Towns of Jiangbei, to the outskirts of Jinan, the surrounding situation had basically achieved the strategic goal of besieging the point and attacking the reinforcements.

As for whether the Qing army had any intention of causing trouble or harassment, Zhu Cilang was not worried. He knew Duoduo and knew that the other party probably would not dare to do so.

Soon, Zhu Cilang arrived at the front battlefield in Yanzhou. He immediately confirmed the latest military intelligence with Lin Changfeng, then summoned all the generals and held a simple military meeting to make subtle adjustments to the original deployment of the army in response to the latest changes in the battlefield situation.

During this process, the opinions of the military commanders such as Lin Changfeng and Gao Jie who arrived at the battlefield early were very important.

They have the best understanding of the current situation on the battlefield, and are also clear about the overall deployment of the Northern Expedition Army.

After some inquiries and discussions, and finalizing the specific adjustment details of the army's deployment, Zhu Cilang immediately signaled Chang Denggui to issue orders and convey them to each camp.

After receiving the latest orders, each unit immediately set up camp in various places south of Yanzhou City according to the plan formulated by the Five Military Commandery. The transportation and construction teams composed of more than 37,000 civilians accompanying the army assisted in escorting and unloading the army's baggage and food, while cutting down trees in the surrounding areas to set up camp.

They all operated in groups of fifteen people in accordance with the army's requirements.

Many of these laborers were people who had migrated south from southern Shandong. They were working very hard and very efficiently. The entire campsite was bustling with activity.

So, on the second night, the camp of the Palace Army had just been completed, and the cavalry deployed on the periphery for guarding also withdrew back to the camp in large numbers.

The Qing army garrison commander of Yanzhou City did not dare to send troops to attack at night.

Now, the Qing army was not completely sure of victory and did not dare to act rashly, for fear that they would end up being annihilated like those Qing troops who had previously taken the initiative to attack the city at night.

(End of this chapter)