Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 253 Rendezvous
Outside the solid and thick city walls on the east, south and west sides of Jinan City, especially inside the moat, stand extremely strong fortresses.

Before Duoduo evacuated Jinan, he deployed many firearms inside. Combined with the artillery on the city wall, they formed a defense system that was independent of each other but could protect each other.

To the south of Jinan City, the sound of artillery bombardment was deafening and earth-shaking. Five eight-pound cannons, the latest ones produced by the "Yingtian Weapon Bureau", were firing in unison.

The artillery positions were filled with smoke, and black stone bullets hit the fortresses standing outside, sending stone chips flying everywhere.

All the Qing soldiers in the fortress were hiding in various places with their heads in their hands. From time to time, the unlucky ones who were injured by the rubble would let out shrill screams.

At this time, the more than ten feet wide trench outside the fortress had been filled up by the soldiers of the Palace Army. Even many places on the walls of the fortress had several large holes blasted open by artillery shells, and it was already in a shaky state.

Although Zhu Cilang did not launch a large-scale siege, he was not idle. In addition to sending a small force to clear the surrounding Qing army strongholds, he also cleared the Houtai Fortress outside the city, making full preparations for the final annihilation of the defenders of Jinan City.

However, these Houtai fortresses were built very solidly, and it was not so easy to capture them.

Moreover, Kong Youde could continuously send reinforcements from Jinan City and rely on the city walls for cover to contain the attack of the Palace Army, so that Zhu Cilang, who was unwilling to suffer too many casualties, did not dare to attack with all his strength.

Not only that, the Qing troops in the city could also use the cover of night to transport supplies to the Qing troops defending these fortresses, which continuously replenished the resistance of the defenders.

In each fortress, there were several Eight Banners soldiers, a dozen vassal soldiers, and a dozen bannermen.

These Qing soldiers were all elite. The Eight Banners armored soldiers and the baoyi soldiers all shared the same interests with the Qing Dynasty. They were very strong in both combat effectiveness and equipment, and they effectively supervised the battles of the Green Camp Army.

However, despite this, under the fierce artillery attack of the Palace Army, the fortresses outside Jinan City were being taken down one by one.

Although the Qing army resisted very tenaciously, it was difficult for them to hold out for long under the attack of hundreds of artillery pieces and endless shells.

Duoduo could certainly think of this, but he made such arrangements just to delay Zhu Cilang's siege progress at the lowest cost.

Now that his goal has been achieved, Zhu Cilang has to slow down his offensive.

Zhu Cilang stood on the platform surrounded by soldiers from the imperial camp, and saw the attack of the army in front through the telescope, feeling a little bored.

He chose the strategy of slow attack in order to reduce casualties, delay time, and wait for a better opportunity to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Qing army.

On the surface, Zhu Cilang's attack seemed unfavorable and progressed slowly, but in fact, he was digging deep trenches and building strong fortifications, waiting for the Qing army in the city to be forced to break out, and then he would wipe them out at the lowest cost.

In fact, as long as the main force of the Eight Banners army was annihilated in Shandong, the Qing Dynasty's rule in the north would inevitably collapse, and then the city of Jinan would be like taking candy from a baby.

Zhu Cilang now controls the banks of the Daqing River, and the situation in Jinan Prefecture is completely under control.

With the smooth progress of Gao Jie and Huang Degong, the main force of Zhang Mingzhen's navy was transferred to the west coast of Bohai Sea and continued to harass the Qing army.

Tian Jianxiu, Liu Tichun and Hao Yaoqi from Huguang were stationed in southern Henan, Runing, De'an and Chengtian to guard against emergencies.

Although Zhu Cilang firmly believed that Tian Jianxiu and Liu Tichun would win in southern Henan, he did not rule out unexpected situations. If the Qing army broke through, they could only rely on Hao Yaoqi's troops and local defenders to temporarily resist.

However, even if the Qing army launched an attack, they could only harass Xiangyang, De'an and other places. With the strength of Ajige and Gao Di, it would be difficult to capture the major cities in northern Hubei in a short period of time.

However, this was only the worst-case scenario. Zhu Cilang believed that the more likely scenario was that he would lead the main force to defeat Dorgon and Ajige in Shandong, while Liu Tichun would fight Gao Di in Nanyang.

As for Dorgon, once the main force of the Qing army led by Ajige was defeated, the Qing army in Henan, Shanxi, northern Zhili, Shandong and other places would inevitably rebel. At that time, it would be easy for Zhang Mingzhen to recapture the prefectures along the Bohai Sea coast, and the Qing army in Jinan would be trapped.

Zhu Cilang’s current task is to tighten his belt and close the door to fight the dog.

At the same time, while taking down the Houtai Fortress, he also took the opportunity to test the performance of various artillery pieces.

The weapons bureaus in Nanjing and Suzhou are now fully operational. Together with the five major weapons bureaus in Wuchang, Changsha and Jiujiang, tens of thousands of craftsmen, with the help of scientific management systems and advanced tools, have an extremely strong weapons production capacity, even exceeding the needs of the current war.

Zhu Cilang knew very well that after defeating the Qing Dynasty and completing the reunification of the Ming Dynasty, he would no longer have opponents of the same level in this land.

As for the Russians in the Northeast and Northwest, the British in Southeast Asia, etc., they are unable to deploy large numbers of troops in East Asia.

In the age of firearms, the Outer Mongols in the north and the Dzungars in the northwest were simply unable to resist the military power accumulated by the huge economy and population of the Eighteen Provinces of Han.

Some people in later generations claimed that it was the wisdom and bravery of the Qing emperors that could solve these problems, and Zhu Cilang could also solve them.

This was not because of any wisdom or bravery, but because of the progress of productivity in the 17th and 18th centuries and the widespread use of firearms on the battlefield, which made it impossible for nomadic peoples to win.

You know, without victory on the battlefield, other so-called ethnic policies would be out of the question.

Zhu Cilang's plan has taken shape, and a new Ming Dynasty will be able to deal with surrounding forces more easily.

Moreover, he was well aware that times had changed and the focus of the new dynasty should be on the ocean. While ensuring the security of core territories and expanding into the northeast and northwest, he must strive for maritime rights and interests with all his might.

"How's the trench on the west side going?" Zhu Cilang put down the telescope and turned to ask Chang Denggui.

"The trenches surrounding the seven camps west of Jinan City have been basically dug. They are more than ten feet wide and deep. Any attempt by the Tartars to break out will definitely be blocked."

Chang Denggui bowed and replied:
"Your Majesty, with the force we have besieging the city, Kong Youde would be unable to escape even if he had wings, and Zhang Mingzhen's navy has already controlled the river, so the Qing army will absolutely not be able to break through."

"If they really break out, it will be much easier. The Palace Army will destroy them directly outside the city." Zhu Cilang frowned and said:
"But if some of them escape, thousands of Tartar soldiers will plunder the border, and I'm afraid thousands of civilians will be killed or injured. Now that the Qing army can still hold the outer city of Jinan, there may be a glimmer of hope. They dare not break out easily."

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing." Chang Denggui clasped his fists again.

"You mean to send troops to retake those northern counties?"

Zhu Cilang anticipated what he was going to say, but he believed that the current strategic focus was to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Qing army, and he was unwilling to divide his troops further to avoid any accidents.

Now, Zhu Cilang’s primary goal is to win steadily and not take unnecessary risks.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Some major cities are still controlled by the Qing army, and there are many Eight Banner soldiers and baoyi in the city.

I am worried that the Qing army may have hidden troops there and attack us at a critical moment. Therefore, I suggest that we take advantage of the Qing army's division and concentrate our firepower to capture these cities.

If there are Qing troops hiding, we will defeat them one by one; even if there are none, we can lure the Qing troops in Jinan to attack..."

Although Chang Denggui wanted to make a contribution, he was also aware of the strength of Jinan City and the cunning of Kong Youde.

If the Qing army breaks out, it will be a bloody battle, and he doesn't think Kong Youde will give up easily.

Zhu Cilang was also somewhat shaken after hearing this. Although Chang Denggui's words were speculation, they were not impossible. After thinking it over again and again, he decided to treat it with caution.

"Zhang Huangyan."

"Chen is here!"

"Pass on my military order. Summon all the generals urgently tonight for a military meeting."
.
At the same time, Ajige and Jin Li quickly began to lead the main force of the Qing army in Henan eastward in batches.

After more than half a month's march, more than 10,000 Eight Banners soldiers, thousands of elite baoyi soldiers, and more than 20,000 Green Camp soldiers, a total of more than 40,000 troops, finally successfully crossed Daming Prefecture in northern Zhili and entered Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong.

However, in order to avoid being noticed by Zhu Cilang's Jinyiwei, these troops did not directly enter the provincial capital east of Jinan, but hid in the mountains and forests in batches, led by Jin Li's trusted general and Ajige's Gushan Ezhen respectively.

Ajige and Jin Li soon met with Dorgon, who had arrived secretly, in the north of Dongchang Prefecture to discuss how to finally ambush Zhu Cilang's main army.

While they were secretly heading to Shandong with tens of thousands of troops from southern Henan via the mountains in western Henan, Dorgon continued to strengthen his reconnaissance of the valleys east of Jinan, sending a signal to Zhu Cilang that he was about to rescue Jinan but was hesitant.

This also caused Zhu Cilang to repeatedly order the postponement of the attack on Jinan City, fearing that the city would be captured before Dorgon made a decision.

It was for this reason that Chen Fu brought his deputy general with him, and Zhu Cilang even considered transferring Lin Changfeng's troops to him because he discovered these abnormal movements of the Qing army.

However, Zhu Cilang still thought he was preparing to ambush the Qing army at this time, but he didn't know that this was a trap carefully set by Dorgon, Ajige and others.

"By now, Zhu Cilang should have recalled the reinforcements sent to Qingzhou Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture. He must have thought that we have been fooled." Dorgon said proudly. It was he who gave the order for the scouts to launch frequent raids in order to create the illusion that Zhu Cilang was ambushing him.

“As for Jinan City, there are more than 30,000 soldiers and horses in the city, with sufficient weapons, gunpowder, and food. Although morale is a little low, it is not difficult to hold on.

However, the power of the Ming army's artillery was beyond our expectations, and Kong Youde was under a lot of pressure!

If Zhu Cilang decides to attack the city and we don't provide timely support, judging by the current situation, Jinan City may not last more than six months. Once Jinan falls, we will no longer have an excuse to provide support."

"Does the Regent mean that we should act immediately to support Jinan and then fall into Zhu Cilang's ambush?"

Ajige was a little hesitant. His troops had come over mountains and across rivers. In order to maintain secrecy, they almost never took the official road, and they had to ensure speed, so they were very tired.

Now, in order to continue hiding, they cannot enter the city and cannot get sufficient rest. If they go to war directly, it may affect their combat effectiveness.

Dorgon understood his concerns. This battle was related to the life and death of the Qing Dynasty, and he did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

"We don't need to rush these few days. Zhu Cilang hasn't officially started attacking the city yet. If we act too early, he will be able to mobilize more troops. I will lead the troops to attack after Kong Youde has tied down more Ming troops."

After hearing this, Ajige nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Dorgon:

"I will send out the Bayalas among my generals. When the time comes, we can use the opportunity of the march to disguise them as scouts and eliminate every Ming spy. If Zhu Cilang notices anything, our plan will be completely ruined."

Dorgon immediately nodded in agreement. Bayala was the most elite horseman among the Eight Banners. They were rare in number and had extremely strong combat effectiveness. They represented the strength of the banner master.

If Dorgon and Ajige took action at the same time and sent out more than 1,500 experienced Bayaras under their command, Zhu Cilang's scouts would certainly find it difficult to obtain any valuable military intelligence.

"Once Bayala appears, Emperor Ming will become blind and deaf, and will no longer be able to detect our ambush."

"If Jinan City can tie down some of Emperor Ming's troops, how many more can he send to fight?"

Ajige asked with concern.

The total strength of the Eight Banners currently does not exceed 70,000 troops, and some of them must be sent as bait to ambush in the valley together with the baoyi soldiers. The final number of pursuers used to ambush Zhu Cilang may be only more than 50,000, and no more than 60,000 at most.

If the baoyi soldiers collapsed at the first sign of trouble, Zhu Cilang would definitely become suspicious. They only had one chance and could not make any mistakes.

Similarly, if Zhu Cilang fell for the trick, they would have to defeat him in one battle, which made Ajige hesitate whether to go all out directly.

"Jinan City can only hold back 20,000 of his troops at most. If Kong Youde performs poorly in Jinan, this number will be even less.

"The Ming Emperor still has thousands of troops stationed in places like Southern Zhili and Southern Shandong, and even in key locations like Eastern Henan. He might eventually be able to mobilize 50,000 to 60,000 troops to ambush us," Dorgon said, his tone somewhat gloomy.

After hearing this, Ajige and Jin Li also looked very serious.

They knew that Zhu Cilang had become so powerful now, but after confirming it again, they felt even more afraid.

"Jin Li, you have a deep understanding of the Ming army inside the Great Wall. What are your thoughts on this battle?" Ajige did not continue speaking, but turned to Jin Li and asked. He really had no experience fighting Zhu Cilang, and his previous opponents were all peasant armies.

Jin Li swallowed his saliva. Facing two Manchu masters, although he was not confident, he still said firmly:

"If we gather our entire army and go all out, we still have a chance to defeat Emperor Ming in one battle.

I and the troops I sent have observed the surrounding terrain. The place where the Ming army might set up an ambush is narrow and has many small hills, which is not suitable for cavalry combat.

However, our ambush is set in a different place, a vast plain. If Zhu Cilang were to confront us head-on here, I'm afraid both sides would suffer losses. This is the worst-case scenario."

Dorgon and Ajige nodded after hearing this. They were not completely without confidence, but the psychological pressure was so great because their opponent was Zhu Cilang.

"No matter what, we must win this battle." Dorgon said firmly.

(End of this chapter)