Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 250 The situation changes dramatically

After the Palace Army recaptured the Yanzhou Prefecture City, the situation in the entire Shandong Province, and even the entire Central Plains, no longer had any room for maneuver.

Now, the Qing army can no longer afford to be defeated once. With the current strength of the Palace Army in Shandong and even in the whole country, it is enough to fail several times and still be able to make a comeback.

But the Eight Banners Army under the command of Dorgon, Ajige, Dodo and others would be wiped out if they were defeated once!
Soon, the Qing troops in Jining, Dongping, and even Dongchang Prefecture quickly abandoned the city and fled.

When they arrived at Jinan City, the various units of the Palace Army that were originally besieging the city were constantly blocking their way.

The Palace Army was well prepared. Relying on several mutually supportive and extremely stable camps set up earlier, they avoided the danger of being attacked from both sides or even by surprise by the Qing army inside and outside the city.

All of this is based on the military advantage of the Palace Army.

The Qing troops in the city not only did not dare to engage in a decisive battle in the wild, but it was also impossible for them to launch a surprise attack outside the city.

However, Duoduo had no intention of fighting at this time. He saw the so-called reinforcements coming from outside the city retreat on their own initiative under the obstruction of the Ming army, and he secretly felt relieved.

After all, this way he wouldn't have to leave the city to support them.

These defeated Qing troops had to turn around and head north immediately, preparing to retreat into Qihe City, northwest of Jinan.

They planned to rest in the city for one night and then lead their troops north to retreat to northern Zhili the next day.

However, as these defeated Qing soldiers broke through the blockade of the Ming army outside the city and entered the city, the Green Camp soldiers in Qihe City not only did not feel at ease, but instead began to have different ideas.

Originally, these Green Camp soldiers who were defending the city were cut off from information because of the siege by the Ming army, and had no idea about the specific battle situation in various parts of Shandong.

They all thought that they could not defeat the Palace Army that was attacking Yanzhou Prefecture, so they just had to hold on a little longer and wait for the Manchu Eight Banners Army to arrive, and all the problems would be solved.

However, they now saw that the armies of Jining and Dongping had retreated to Jinan, and brought the news that Yanzhou City had fallen. The shock was indeed huge.

At this time, not to mention the garrison commander in the city, even the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers had begun to waver and had to reconsider the matter of defending the city.

So, that night, when several officers in Qihe City met, they understood what the other party was thinking, and immediately sent their confidants to contact Li Benshen, the general of the Beijing camp outside the city, to convey the news that they were preparing to raise the flag of rebellion.

After receiving the news, Li Benshen immediately left the camp with his personal guards, intending to personally hand over the letter from several Green Camp generals in Qihe City, stating that they were preparing to rebel, to Gao Jie, who was leading the troops to support them.

However, as soon as he entered Gao Jie's central military tent, he found that there was an extra person there. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that it was the Emperor's trusted general - Lin Changfeng.

It is said that after Zhu Cilang captured Yanzhou City, he immediately issued an order to begin gathering the army towards Jinan City.

After Gao Jie received Zhu Cilang's order to march north quickly, he immediately led his cavalry to the scene. When he saw that Li Benshen's camp was safe and sound, he finally felt relieved.

As for Lin Changfeng, he also brought some troops and quickly arrived in Jinan City.

While Gao Jie and Lin Changfeng were discussing how to stop the enemy, Li Benshen suddenly came and brought an unbelievable news.

"Can we trust what these Green Camp soldiers say?" Lin Changfeng asked with a frown. He remained skeptical.

"Those Green Camp generals are all native Shandong people. They should know how to adapt to the times. They sent me a letter of surrender at this time, which means they really want to rebel!" Li Benshen said with a fist salute.

Lin Changfeng listened without saying anything. He turned to look at Gao Jie and asked:

"General Gao, what do you think?"

Although Gao Jie had just arrived, he already had a general understanding of the situation in Qihe City. He said thoughtfully:

"This must be true. Now the situation in Shandong is under the control of our army. The defeated Qing army only has 3,000 to 4,000 remnants left. It is impossible for these local tyrants who have been in the area for many years not to notice something fishy.

They are all native Shandong people. If they followed the Tartars to Northern Zhili or outside the Great Wall, they probably wouldn't get any benefits. It would be better to take advantage of it now and get some credit."

After hearing this, Lin Changfeng nodded, and Li Benshen also echoed:

"These Green Camp troops were originally soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. They have been managing the area for several years and have a lot of land and property there. They didn't kill anyone when defending the city. They must have considered Jinan their base."

"However," Lin Changfeng changed the subject and then frowned, "I'm worried that they have no experience and that problems might arise when they take action."

Lin Changfeng said this because he had other concerns.

The main force under his command could not catch up for a while.

When Gao Jie and Li Benshen heard this, they agreed with it and nodded in agreement.

Just when the three people in the tent had not had time to come up with any foolproof plan, a messenger suddenly ran in from outside the tent, as if some urgent military situation had occurred.

It turned out that there was an internal conflict between the new and old Qing armies in Qihe City.

In these troubled times, which of these old soldiers who have survived to this day is not a shrewd person? Who wants to cheat whom?
The Green Camp generals who led their troops into the city had been on guard since the beginning, and soon discovered the officers guarding the city. They secretly sent envoys to the Ming army camp outside the city.

But they knew that the main force of the Ming army was still behind them, and if they marched at full speed, they would arrive soon.

These Green Camp soldiers are now completely frightened birds and are not willing to get entangled any further. They want to break out immediately while the Green Camp soldiers in the city have not yet colluded with the Palace Army.

They didn't know Zhu Cilang's latest plan, but when they thought about the pursuit by the main force of the Palace Army, how could they not be afraid?
Therefore, before Gao Jie, Lin Changfeng and others could reply to the garrison officers in the city, these Green Camp troops had already hurriedly withdrawn from Qihe City.

By the time Lin Changfeng's cavalry arrived from behind, the Qing army had already disappeared without a trace!
Gao Jie led his troops to recapture Qihe City and incorporated the Green Camp soldiers in the city. At the same time, he sent troops to continue pursuing the defeated Qing army together with Lin Changfeng.
.
On the other side, Duoduo stood on the city wall of Jinan City. After looking at the military flags fluttering in the wind in front of the palace in the south for a while, he turned his head to look at Kong Youde who was standing next to him, and then handed the secret report in his hand to him. This was secretly sent by Dorgon.

After Kong Youde finished reading the secret report and handed it back respectfully, he spoke:

"Kong Youde, what do you think? Is this feasible?"

"In reply to your Highness, I think this will work if the Ming army in Huguang is deceived and dares not lead their main force north to Kaifeng." Kong Youde thought for a moment and continued:

"Emperor Ming's troops are very good at siege warfare. If we use Jinan as bait and the other Shandong armies don't have time to rescue them, Zhu Cilang will definitely lead his troops north immediately.

At that time, the mountains and plains around Jinan will be the best ambush site. We must not let go of such a good opportunity. "After listening, Duoduo picked up the secret report and looked at it again, then turned his head to look at the Palace Army outside the city and said:

"Except for the small-scale harassment at the beginning, these Ming troops have not had any decent military action for a long time.

The main force of the Ming army is not now near the canal, and it seems that they have no determination to fight us to the death immediately.

But Emperor Ming is very cunning, and he has the navy at his disposal, so he can mobilize troops very quickly. I'm afraid he is doing this on purpose to confuse us.

If this is the case, once our army withdraws and the Ming Emperor's army attacks, the situation on the canal, and even the situation in northern Zhili, will probably collapse.

By then, Dorgon and Ajige might end up losing more than they gain.”

In fact, from Dorgon, Duoduo to Hong Chengchou, and then to Ajige, Kong Youde and others, they almost reached a consensus on the offensive and defensive issues of this Central Plains War:

Jinan can be defended, and only by fighting to the death, but we must seize the opportunity, take the initiative to attack, and defeat the main force of the Palace Army on the plains, otherwise the situation will be irreversible.

In other words, this is the same situation as the Southern Ming army four years ago - being at a disadvantage, they have to take the initiative to attack in order to reverse the situation, otherwise they will die.

"Although the Ming army in Huguang claims to have an army of 200,000, in fact, there are only 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers capable of fighting, and the truly elite troops among them should not exceed 30,000. Otherwise, they would not have been so slow to act." Kong Youde continued to analyze.

"Furthermore, judging by the reaction of the Ming army in Huguang, they probably wouldn't be willing to waste time fighting Prince Ying's army in Nanyang."

Under the instructions of Dorgon and Hong Chengchou, many Green Camp generals in Henan used the pretext of internal rebellion to test the attitudes of Ma Shixiu, Liu Tichun and others, and then infer the other party's true strength.

After all, the attitudes of a person with an army of 200,000 and a person with an army of 50,000 are completely different when it comes to speaking and doing things.

Ma Shixiu and Liu Tichun both thought that the Green Camp Army in Henan could only survive if they joined them, but they didn't expect that Dorgon would take advantage of this to gain his trust.

"It's not that the Ming army is afraid to fight a tough battle now. If they see an opportunity, they might really attack with all their strength." Duoduo still couldn't make a judgment, or he didn't dare to make a judgment easily.

The Ming army is now attacking from three directions with great momentum. Duoduo is well aware that although the Qing army now occupies the north, its supplies and manpower are greatly restricted.

If the offensive of the Palace Army could not be successfully defeated and confidence could not be rebuilt, once the Central Plains were recaptured by the Ming Emperor, the Qing Dynasty would be gone.

He didn't know how Emperor Ming managed to mobilize hundreds of thousands of strong troops in just two or three years.

But he knew very well that the Ming army now had sufficient supplies, strong combat power, and endless manpower replenishment.

However, the Qing Dynasty was becoming increasingly weak, with rebel armies constantly rising in the rear. This had made the Qing court so weak that it could hardly fight the Palace Army for a long time.

Duoduo could even see that if this battle could not be won quickly.

Then, from south to north, the Qing Dynasty's three-pronged defense would collapse one after another, and eventually the entire army might be wiped out, unable to even return to the outside of the Great Wall.

In fact, Duoduo had already vaguely anticipated the deterioration of the current situation when he suffered a defeat in Huguang at the end of last year.

"But no matter what, Emperor Ming must fight, otherwise he will just sit and wait for death!" Duoduo thought for a while and finally sighed.

Duoduo glanced at Kong Youde and then said straight to the point:

"If the Emperor Ming's entire army attacks, how confident do you think we are in holding Jinan City, and how long can we hold it?"

Kong Youde was stunned for a moment when he was asked such a direct question.

Although the army under his command had rested and recovered for more than a year, and had suffered no losses since last year's war.

But at most, there were only about 10,000 people who could fight, of which less than 6,000 were elite soldiers, and there were more than 10,000 who were only slightly stronger than the defenders.

Due to insufficient food and wages and the exploitation of soldiers by military officers at all levels, the Green Camp Army and the feudal soldiers also tended to become servants.

However, because the Qing court's military discipline was still strict and effective, this trend was not so serious.

"Slave, I have no more than 10,000 soldiers who can fight. If I am alone, I am afraid I can't hold on for long!" Kong Youde said nervously. He was very worried that Duoduo would abandon him and run away.

He knew that Duoduo would most likely abandon Jinan under the pretext of joining forces with Ajige to deal with Emperor Ming, but he absolutely could not let this happen.

Otherwise, he could only wait and see and save himself. But he didn't know if he could still survive after that.

"Of course I know that we can't hold on for long. What I'm asking is how long do you think we can hold on for?" Duoduo shouted sternly.

“If only my army were left in the city, we would need to deploy troops to all the important towers in Jinan to stabilize the situation. The maximum number of mobile troops in the city would be four to five thousand elite soldiers.

If the Emperor Ming attacks with an army ten times larger and hundreds of artillery pieces, even if I risk my life, I can only hold out for four or five months at best."

Kong Youde deliberately made the situation sound serious, but that was basically the situation.

"Your Majesty, you cannot abandon me. I cannot defend Jinan City alone."

Duoduo naturally knew that defending Jinan City was not just about defending the few towers in Jinan City.

But if Kong Youde could really hold on to the city, with the city defense he had built for more than a year, he could definitely hold on for more than half a year, especially since Dorgon was still in the north and Emperor Ming did not dare to attack the city with all his strength.

"Although the Ming army's current artillery is very powerful, the city of Jinan has been reinforced by me for over a year. No matter how powerful the artillery is, it cannot be easily captured. You must hold out for more than half a year and wait for reinforcements to arrive."

Kong Youde understood Duoduo's meaning. The other side wanted to defeat Zhu Cilang who was heading north, and also delay part of the Ming army so that it could not make progress, and then preserve northern Zhili from being affected, so as to make long-term plans.

"The gains and losses of a city or a pond are not important. What is important is the overall situation. In May, the army will be clear. We can still hold on for these two months." Duoduo knew what Kong Youde wanted, but he didn't care about so much.

Kong Youde was a little confused after hearing this. Wasn't Ajige planning to march east in April? How did it become May?

Could it be that the situation in Henan is even more serious than we imagined?
(End of this chapter)