Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 258: Safe Strategy
The outcome of a war often depends on a variety of factors, and the ever-changing information flow on the battlefield and the intricate, true and false military reports make it even more complicated.

In the face of sudden accidents that often occur and are even completely beyond expectations, everything on the battlefield requires commanders to make quick and accurate judgments within an extremely limited time and take corresponding actions immediately.

Otherwise, the fleeting opportunity will be lost.

Chen Fu's eyes were fixed on the "Clairvoyance" in his hand, and he watched nervously as the battle situation in the valley became clearer and clearer.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead without him noticing.

Over the years, he had rarely encountered such a difficult decision-making moment, and today's battlefield seemed to have pushed him to his limit.

A dozen or so horses were waiting quietly on the side, as if they could sense the tense atmosphere in the air.

As long as Chen Fu gave the order, they would rush to the battlefield like arrows and quickly convey the orders that were crucial to victory or defeat and determined the lives of countless people.

The current battle situation seems to have gradually become clear - most of the tens of thousands of Qing troops in the valley have retreated, and this is beyond doubt.

But the most core and most powerful 10,000 cavalry retreated almost unscathed during the defeat.

If we don't pursue them quickly, this carefully planned ambush will probably be in vain.

Chen Fu knew very well that this cavalry unit was the real target of this ambush.

If they can be completely eliminated, then this battle will be a true victory.

As for those remnant soldiers and baoyi soldiers who had not received rigorous training, although their corpses were scattered all over the battlefield, their strategic value was far less than that of this elite cavalry.

However, the current situation is not optimistic.

Although Chen Fu's Ming army was temporarily at a disadvantage on the mountains on both sides, he knew very well that as long as additional troops were sent in at the right time, the Qing army would eventually be exhausted.

However, the mountain in the center of the valley has become a tough nut to crack and it is unlikely to be easily conquered in a short period of time.

Chen Fu was quickly analyzing the current battle situation in his mind, but that ominous premonition kept popping up, interfering with his judgment and making him feel extremely irritated.

He was never sure what the hidden meaning behind these unusual actions of the Qing army was.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Fu finally made a decision:

"Order the Wu'an Camp to split into two groups and launch an attack from the mountains on both sides. Make sure to clear the Qing troops on the mountains.

At the same time, he ordered the Tianqi Army to send a battalion to join the battlefield immediately to intercept the Qing cavalry and prevent them from escaping.

Tianwei Left Camp continued to stand by and remain ready for battle.

In addition, he ordered the Tianwu Camp on standby to lay siege to the mountain in the center of the valley with all their might. There was no need for a violent attack, as long as the Qing troops were trapped.

The remaining troops must proceed according to the original plan without error."

"Yes, General!" The dozen or so battalion officers and deputy battalion officers behind Chen Fu responded in unison, their voices uniform and powerful. Each of them clasped their hands and quickly took the order and left.

Chen Fu watched them leave, still feeling a little uneasy.

Because he knew very well that one of his orders could determine the direction of the entire battle.

Although he has tried his best to take all factors into consideration, everything on the battlefield is always full of variables, and any slight mistake may lead to a reversal of the situation.

As the battalion officers quickly conveyed the orders, the various units of the Ming army also began new operations.

Under the leadership of the commander, the soldiers of Wu'an Camp divided into two groups and advanced rapidly along the mountains.

Their goal was clear: to eliminate the Qing troops entrenched in the mountains on both sides, ensure the safety of the mountains, and clear the obstacles for the subsequent pursuit.

At the same time, a battalion of the Tianqi Army was ready to go. Their mission was to intercept the Qing cavalry and prevent them from using their mobility to escape from the battlefield.

The soldiers of the Tianqi Army were all in high spirits.

They understood that this battle was not only a test of their fighting ability, but also an extreme challenge to their speed and coordination.

In the center of the battlefield, the soldiers of Tianwu Camp were shouldering another important task.

Their target was the solid mountain in the center of the valley.

Under Chen Fu's command, they adopted a strategy of encircling but not attacking, intending to trap the Qing army on the mountains and wait for the right time to launch a fatal attack.

In other words, in the end, Chen Fu adopted the compromise and safe strategy proposed by Lin Changfeng, but during the implementation, he made some adjustments and enhancements.

Originally, the Wu'an Camp, the Tianqi Army and the Tianwei Central Army Camp were all prepared as reserve forces to deal with sudden unexpected situations.

Lin Changfeng suggested mobilizing the Tianqi Army to strengthen the attack, but after careful consideration, Chen Fu decided to send the Wu'an Camp as well, clearly showing his firm determination to take the mountains on both sides.

After this transfer, only the Tianwei Right Battalion and more than 8,000 new recruits remained in the reserve.

Although the Tianwei Right Camp is the most elite unit in the entire army, the combat effectiveness of its 3,000 cavalry is particularly outstanding.

But at this moment, this risky offensive plan greatly weakened Chen Fu's ability to deal with emergencies.

At this time, the battlefield in the valley had moved eastward to a more open area, the terrain became flatter, and the form of the battle had also changed.

However, the shouts, horse hooves and artillery roars on the battlefield were still deafening, and the tension of the battle had not diminished in the slightest.

However, in a narrow area in the center of the valley, the Ming army still could not capture the mountain.

The thousands of Qing troops entrenched there took advantage of the terrain, had sufficient troops and ammunition, and had an extremely tenacious fighting will, which prevented the Ming army from taking the city for a long time.

After several forced attacks, the originally narrow foothills were covered with corpses, and blood flowed along the terrain, forming blood-red streams.

With Chen Fu's latest order, the Ming army's strategy finally changed.

The Jinwu Camp did not launch another rash attack, but instead built defensive fortifications around the mountains, apparently intending to trap the Qing troops on the mountain.

Although occupying the mountains, taking advantage of the terrain for defense, and having a full range of firearms are great advantages, this kind of defense also has its fatal flaw - there is no water source.

Without supplies, the drinking water carried by this Qing army could not last a day.

In other words, Ajige obviously hoped to resolve the battle within a day, otherwise the Qing army's mission in the mountains would change from blocking the Ming army's pursuit to self-protection.

It is still difficult to determine who will win the battle at this moment.

Chen Fu's seemingly clever move may also put him in danger and become a dead end due to a momentary mistake.

At the same time, the Ming army in the valley continued to pursue the enemy.

Although Chen Fu had ordered a slowdown in the offensive and to be wary of possible Qing ambushes, the Ming soldiers, enticed by victory, were already fervently engaged, as if the enemy were lambs to the slaughter, ready to be annihilated in one fell swoop. However, most of the Ming army did not realize that the seemingly unstoppable pursuit force had actually fallen into an ambush carefully laid by Ajige and Jin Li.

Ajige's main force was hiding in the mountains on the south side. He noticed that the Ming army soldiers on the opposite side suddenly stopped chasing and began to reorganize their troops.

He was startled and immediately realized that the enemy's commander might have noticed the ambush.

Despite this, Chen Fu's thousands of cavalrymen continued to pursue the retreating Qing troops, relentlessly chasing the decoy troops that were originally covering the two sides.

After a fierce battle, the Qing army's cavalry force had been reduced from the initial several thousand to less than five thousand.

However, they still retained considerable combat effectiveness, and from time to time they would send part of their troops to engage in combat with the Ming army, which greatly restricted the actions of the Ming cavalry.

The battlefield situation is complex and changeable, and both sides are trying their best to fight.

At this moment, although the Ming army took the initiative, every step forward was full of danger, and they could fall into the enemy's trap if they were not careful.

Chen Fu knew very well that the outcome of this battle was still undecided, and if he was not careful, the balance of victory might tilt towards the Qing army.

Therefore, each of his orders was extremely cautious, striving to maintain his footing in the dangerous situation and looking for opportunities to ultimately win.

What Dorgon was most worried about was not the current battle situation, but the part of the Ming army that had already entered the ambush circle.

A small half of the Ming army's vanguard had already fallen into the trap he had carefully set.

He only needed to wait for the opportunity, and when the Ming army's formation was most chaotic while reorganizing its troops, launch a surprise attack and he would be able to regain control of the situation.

However, just as he was about to implement his plan, a large number of Ming troops suddenly appeared on the mountains to the south.

The arrival of these reinforcements put tremendous pressure on the New Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing army, who had previously performed strongly.

After the exhaustion of the first two battles, these new Eight Banners soldiers had no chance to catch their breath before they were forced to fight the aggressive Ming army again.

Although these Eight Banners soldiers have always been known for their fighting skills, they are not made of iron after all. Their physical strength and morale declined sharply in the series of fierce battles, and the front line began to show signs of loosening.

Dorgon was well aware of the strategic importance of the mountains on the southern side, which was one of the key fulcrums on the entire battlefield.

Once you have control of it, you can advance or retreat and take absolute initiative on the battlefield.

Therefore, Dorgon could not allow this position to be lost.

He made a decisive decision and immediately sent three core armored soldiers of Niulu to reinforce. These armored soldiers were originally elite forces prepared for ambushes, but at this moment Ajige had no choice but to mobilize them to stabilize the situation.

Judging from the intelligence sent back by the scouts, Dorgon should have sent more troops facing the Ming army with thousands of reinforcements.

However, the troops of these three Niulu were actually not sufficient, and these Niulu were not fully staffed, with a total strength of only four or five hundred people.

Despite this, he was still unwilling to weaken the effectiveness of the ambush and raid. The Qing army's military strength was not advantageous to begin with, and mobilizing troops again was already stretched to the limit.

Dorgon suddenly looked up at the mountains in the north, which was the ambush place of Jin Li's elite troops.

"Jin Li, how many reinforcements have you sent to stop the Ming army?" He couldn't help but worry whether Jin Li had dispatched enough forces to deal with the Ming army's attack.

Jin Li realized the urgency of the situation. Although he only had three hundred generals as reinforcements, he did not hesitate to send his most elite general, Zhong Dingfu, to support them and ordered:

"Zhong Dingfu, you will personally lead three hundred-man corps of armored soldiers to reinforce us. All the armored soldiers stationed on the mountain will also be under your command.

No matter what, we must not lose that place and must repel the Ming army's attack."

Jin Li was well aware of the strategic value of the mountains. If the mountains were completely controlled by the Ming army, their ambush would be in danger of being attacked from both sides.

Although the terrain of the mountains was not particularly steep, once the Ming army controlled the mountain roads, they could launch a surprise attack from a high position, posing a great threat to the Qing army below.

Therefore, Jin Li dispatched his most capable generals to ensure that the mountains would not be occupied by the Ming army.

As the battlefield situation changed rapidly, both Dorgon and Jin Li had to adjust their military forces.

Their original plan was to wait for the Ming army to completely enter the ambush circle before launching an offensive.

But now, Chen Fu had obviously noticed something, forcing them to speed up their actions.

Ajige quickly issued an order:

"Wang Shen, as soon as the cannon fires, you will deploy your troops to the east and block the Ming cavalry that is coming to support you.

Those tens of thousands of cavalrymen who were just mixed in with the bait are all elite. If you can delay them for three quarters of an hour, and wait for our main force to turn around and return to support, the Ming army will be caught in a desperate situation, attacked from both sides, and completely annihilated."

Upon hearing the order, Wang Shen immediately nodded in agreement.

He knew that there was no room for hesitation at this moment.

Wang Shen's troops included not only the most elite firearms units in Jin Li's army, but also some combat soldiers and cavalry.

In order to deal with the Ming army's cavalry charge, Jin Li specially dispatched hundreds of cavalry to provide support to ensure that he would not be attacked from behind.

In this era, although the power of firearms had gradually become apparent, relying solely on muskets or artillery units was not enough to deal with large-scale cavalry charges.

Unless there is a terrain advantage to rely on, it is difficult for firearms troops to withstand the frontal charge of cavalry.

Therefore, when facing a cavalry charge, the strategy of coordinating the operations of musket units and cavalry was usually adopted.

The firearms unit under Wang Shen's command was originally a collection of elite Ming troops from Shaanxi, Gansu and Liaodong, and had rich combat experience in this area.

However, their cavalry strength was relatively weak, which was why Jin Li had to allocate his precious cavalry to support them.

Just as they were adjusting their forces, a deafening burst of artillery fire suddenly rang out on the battlefield:

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

Accompanied by the sound of artillery, the Qing army's ambush officially began, and the entire battlefield fell into a new round of melee.

Dorgon looked at the battlefield and knew in his heart that the success or failure at this moment was related to the overall situation.

He hoped that a surprise attack within the ambush circle would completely disrupt the Ming army's formation and eliminate their advantages.

But as the war progressed, he had to face the increasingly powerful offensive of the Ming army, especially the Ming army reinforcements on the mountains on the south side, which were gradually changing the balance of the battlefield.

"Will Jin Li's reinforcements arrive in time? Can they stop the Ming army's cavalry charge?" Dorgon's heart was full of doubts and anxieties, but he knew that now he could only wait and see and wait for the situation to develop further.

He silently prayed that every decision he made would be effective, because he knew that if any link went wrong, the entire battle situation might be completely overturned.

(End of this chapter)