Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 312: Restoration of Fuzhou City

According to the original trajectory of history, Wang Yuncheng was destined to meet his end on the Hengyang battlefield four years later.

This man from Liaodong was also heroic and elegant when he was young.

When Wang Yuncheng was young, he followed Zuo Liangyu and He Tengjiao to fight in all directions, from the northeast to the southwest.

However, after experiencing defeat after defeat, continuous disappointment and hopeless military pay, he finally became completely desperate and chose to shave his head and surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Like Deng Zhang, Wang Yuncheng even felt a bit more lonely and helpless as a stranger in a foreign land.

When Beijing and Nanjing fell one after another and Zuo Menggeng led a large army to surrender to the Qing court, Wang Yuncheng and Ma Jinzhong gave up the wealth and glory that came with it and resolutely went to Hunan to continue the resistance against the Qing court.

This experience deepened their relationship, and they became known as "Wang Ma" and were as close as brothers.

But what kind of courage and conviction does it take to hold up the anti-Qing banner in such a desperate situation?
The fall of Nanjing almost meant the end of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, Wang Yuncheng, who had only one or two thousand soldiers, was able to hold on to that point, which is truly admirable.

However, as the Southern Ming troops suffered repeated defeats in Hunan, and He Tengjiao was unable to pay the military salaries, these blows made Wang Yuncheng increasingly disappointed.

Seeing his soldiers gradually leaving and their morale completely gone, he finally decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Just before leaving, he angrily cursed most of his soldiers and defected to Kong Youde with a heart full of resentment, becoming a member of the camp he had vowed to resist, and embarked on the path he had always resisted.

After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, Wang Yuncheng's inner resistance had been extinguished. He behaved extremely submissively and was loyal to his new master Kong Youde. As a result, he was deeply trusted and valued.

At that time, he had already prepared himself mentally to bear the stigma of "traitor" and planned to spend the rest of his life in this helpless identity.

However, fate often plays tricks on us.

When Li Dingguo led his army to besiege Guilin, the opportunity to rebel against the Qing Dynasty emerged again, and the fighting spirit in Wang Yuncheng's heart began to burn again.

Not only did he want to rebel against the Qing Dynasty, he even persuaded Kong Youde to surrender together in an attempt to reverse the direction of his fate.

However, it is counterproductive.

Because of his previous status as a traitor, Li Dingguo had no good impression of him. Even though Wang Yuncheng made military achievements in the "Guilin Victory", he was always treated coldly and not trusted.

On the contrary, Ma Jinzhong treated him as before and never abandoned him because of his past. In the end, Wang Yuncheng joined Ma Jinzhong's army and became a member of the anti-Qing team again.

Now, with the emergence of Zhu Cilang, history has quietly changed.

Wang Yuncheng's fate deviated from its original trajectory. He no longer died alone on the battlefield in Hengyang, but embarked on a new path full of unknowns.

Of course, it’s not just Wang Yuncheng and Deng Zhang, there may be many more unknown little people.

They have experienced ups and downs and struggles in the long river of history. At one time, they were forced by reality to linger on and be willing to live in misery.

However, if they could see a glimmer of light again, how many people would be willing to rise up again and refuse to become slaves of a conquered country.

The eastern sky gradually turned pale, and the morning light shone down, covering the silent battlefield.

Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng stood side by side on the city wall, watching the remnants of the Qing army fleeing around the city being intercepted and killed by various Ming troops, and their hearts were filled with great satisfaction.

Ma Jinzhong stood with his hands behind his back, a faint smile on his stern face, as if he could see a broader blueprint for the future.

Wang Yuncheng next to him clenched his fists, his eyes shining.

His eyes no longer held the confusion and hesitation of the past, but a firm belief in the future.

"Brother Ma, I didn't expect it to be so fast!"

Wang Yuncheng whispered, his eyes gleaming with fighting spirit:
"We will never lose again this time."

Ma Jinzhong smiled faintly, patted his shoulder, and his eyes were firm:

"Yes, Brother Wang."

In Fuzhou City, the Qing army's defense line completely collapsed, the soldiers were defeated and fled into the streets and alleys, trying to find a hiding place in the chaos.

Although there was a retreat route towards the north gate that Maka had arranged earlier, the Qing army defending the city failed to use it effectively.

Although the Ming army had sufficient manpower and overwhelming control of the situation in the city, it failed to completely occupy the place in just one hour.

Therefore, they had to divide their troops to intercept the fleeing Qing troops, and the situation became chaotic for a while.

On Beimen Street, the Ming army had sent thousands of troops to conduct a comprehensive cleanup of the streets and alleys, eliminating the Qing soldiers hiding in residential houses one by one.

The city gate was tightly guarded, with a simple breastwork made of wooden boards, chevaux de frise, and corpses.

More than two hundred musketeers, archers and pikemen stood behind the breastwork, ready to attack, while five hundred men were deployed on each wing of the city ladder to provide cover and prevent flank attacks.

The general in charge of defending the city gate originally wanted to send more troops, but due to the narrow terrain of the north gate, he had to place part of the troops in the Wengcheng and Yuecheng, setting up multi-layered defense lines, preparing to gradually block the breakout of the remnants of the Qing army.

Suddenly, a deafening sound of horse hooves came from the south intersection, and hundreds of Qing cavalry galloped out from the intersection and headed straight for the north gate.

This Qing army was a breakout force deployed by Maka. It had a total of more than 600 cavalrymen, most of whom were Eight Banners soldiers. They were powerful and fierce.

The cavalry in the front row of the Qing army, led by their officers, shouted loudly, making shrill cries and rushing towards the north gate like a tide.

Thousands of horse hooves trampled on the bluestone streets, stirring up clouds of dust and causing the ground to tremble continuously, as if the entire street was shaking.

Seeing the Qing cavalry's aggressive momentum, even though the Ming soldiers had the protection of a breastwork, facing these enemy cavalry who were a body length taller than themselves and had such a strong momentum, many of them couldn't help but feel nervous, and their palms holding the guns were sweating slightly.

But the Ming army was well-trained, and although they were frightened, their formation was not at all disrupted.

When the enemy cavalry rushed to within seventy steps, the first row of musketeers decisively pulled the trigger. Dozens of flames burst out, white smoke rose, and deafening explosions sounded one after another.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third rows of musketeers fired in turn, and white smoke billowed on the breastwork, mixed with a strong smell of gunpowder.

After the musketeers fired, the archers behind them immediately fired arrows. A dense rain of arrows flew over the breastwork and flew towards the oncoming Qing cavalry.

The sudden and fierce attack caught the Qing army off guard. The cavalry in the front row wailed, and dozens of people, including their horses, fell to the ground, suffering heavy casualties.

The cavalry in the rear couldn't stop for a moment, and simply ran over their fallen comrades and continued to rush forward.

The wide streets of Beimen Street provided favorable conditions for the cavalry charge. Although the Qing army's formation was already in disarray under the attack of Ming army muskets and arrows, they still broke through the fire network and killed within thirty steps. At such a close distance, the Qing cavalry had no way to retreat.

They knew this was their last chance of survival. If they retreated now, the bodies of their companions behind them would become their graves.

Faced with this bloody road, the soldiers sprinted with all their might, determined to break free from the Ming army's blockade.

Under the brutal fire suppression, they had long been unable to maintain an orderly formation, but this desperate situation of life and death instead aroused their fearless ferocity. They had only one belief in their hearts - to get out of Fuzhou alive!

As the corpses piled up in front, some cavalrymen could no longer ride forward and had to dismount to fight.

These Qing soldiers didn't care about the blood on the ground. They jumped off their horses, weapons in hand, and rushed towards the north gate wall like a group of trapped beasts.

There was an expression of defiance and despair on their faces, their eyes were bloodshot, and they were roaring angrily, as if they wanted to pour out all their accumulated resentment on this city gate.

The Ming army musketeers and archers behind the breastwork continued to suppress and shoot in turns.

On the city wall, the generals of the Ming army calmly commanded the troops to defend their positions, always paying attention to the enemy's charge route and being ready for battle.

Despite facing such a desperate fight by the Qing army, the Ming army's morale remained undiminished. They held their positions strictly and gradually consumed the Qing army with firepower.

The fierce battle was in full swing, and the city of Fuzhou was filled with smoke. The cries, roars and the sounds of weapons clashing were intertwined, like purgatory.

Although those brave Qing cavalry were brave and fearless, they were eventually exhausted and gradually annihilated under the fire suppression and multi-layer defense lines of the Ming army.

On the city wall, the Ming army soldiers were in good order, gradually advancing the defense line and killing the defeated Qing troops one by one.

At this time, the remaining Qing army soldiers had no way to retreat and could only watch their comrades around them being eliminated one by one.

Countless Qing soldiers fell under the north gate, the streets were dyed red with blood, corpses piled up like mountains, and the air on the battlefield was filled with a pungent smell of blood.

With the last round of musket fire, another thirty or forty Qing soldiers fell, and a bloody mist filled the air.

The Ming army's musketeers and archers then quickly retreated to the sides, making way for the infantry armed with spears.

At the same time, the troops climbing the city walls on the east and west sides also gathered towards the center, and the siege became increasingly tight.

Maka was riding on his horse. Seeing the critical situation, he let out a thunderous roar and led the charge forward himself.

The hundreds of remaining elite soldiers of the Qing army also followed suit frantically, showing an attitude of fighting to the death and not fearing life or death.

The two sides fought fiercely in front of the breastwork. The Qing army was forced into a desperate situation and fought with their backs to the river, showing great bravery.

No matter how fierce the attack and defense were, people on both sides kept falling down and bleeding.

The fierce attack of the Qing army made the Ming army's defense line gradually unstable, and a gap was gradually torn open. The battle situation quickly evolved into a melee where it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe.

In front of the north gate, the sounds of swords clashing and killing shook the sky, and the neighing of war horses and the clashing of weapons rose and fell.

Soldiers from both armies fought desperately in the bloody field. People kept falling to the ground and screaming. The ground had been dyed deep red with blood. Corpses were piled up on both sides of the breastwork, with various causes of death.

The air was filled with the smell of blood, and the battlefield was shrouded in a suffocating sense of oppression.

The Eight Banners soldiers gradually gained the upper hand in the melee with their fierce close combat ability. Their subsequent soldiers even abandoned their horses and walked, climbing over the "breast wall" built of corpses on foot.

Wave after wave of Qing soldiers attacked the north gate, striving to completely defeat the Ming army's defense.

Seeing his own soldiers gradually break through, Maka felt relieved about the situation and couldn't help but secretly rejoice:

Fortunately, I left some troops to guard the city, otherwise we might have been defeated in Fuzhou City today.

Maka is a veteran who has fought many battles and has made many achievements. He is conceited and never afraid of the enemy.

The reason why the Ming army came with such ferocity today was because there was an insider who secretly leaked the information and mobilized several times the number of troops for a surprise attack. Otherwise, he would not have been forced into a desperate situation so quickly.

However, he had no time to think about these things right now, he had to concentrate on breaking through.

Ahead, after passing the north gate, there are still defensive checkpoints such as Wengcheng and Yuecheng. Maca prayed secretly in his heart, hoping that the Ming army had not ambushed heavy troops at these passes, otherwise he and his subordinates would have no way of survival.

But when he led the last one hundred or so remaining soldiers through the city gate and into the city wall, the scene before him made his heart sink suddenly.

At the side gate of the city wall, Ming soldiers were pouring into the city wall, blocking the Qing army's retreat.

Maka looked up and saw that the city wall was densely packed with Ming army musketeers, each holding a musket and staring at them with sharp eyes.

Behind them, the musketeers who had just retreated also advanced towards the city wall in neat formation, and the situation of being surrounded from the front and back was obviously formed.

Maca suddenly felt something was wrong, but at this critical moment of life and death, he was still unwilling to give up.

He brandished his sword, roared, and led the remaining Qing troops forward, hoping to fight their way out.

However, a loud horn sounded from the wall of the city wall, and the Ming army musketeers opened fire in unison as ordered. The dense sound of muskets shook like thunder, and bullets poured down like rain.

The Qing army trapped in the city wall had nowhere to hide. After a round of gunfire, more than half of the hundred Eight Banner soldiers fell down immediately, with corpses scattered everywhere and blood splattered everywhere.

Maka rushed to the front and was hit by several bullets before she could even react.

His eyes went dark, his body swayed, his sword slid down weakly, and he finally fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up again.

Maka, the only remaining general of the Qing army and the highest defender of Fuzhou City, fell in the city wall of Fuzhou, ending his life.

At this moment, thunderous cheers suddenly came from the city, as if even the air was shaking.

The Ming army soldiers on the battlefield stopped fighting and looked up. They saw that flags representing the Ming Dynasty had been hoisted high above the four city gates in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest. The flags fluttered in the wind, looking majestic and announcing the victory of Fuzhou to all directions.

Everyone's face was filled with excitement, their morale was as high as the tide, and many people knelt down and wept, cheering for this hard-won victory.

On the eastern horizon, a red sun is slowly rising. The dawn light shines on the city wall and reflects on the armor of the Ming army soldiers, shining a golden light.

After several days and nights of fierce fighting, the Battle of Fuzhou finally came to an end. The soldiers were extremely tired and excited.

The morning breeze blew across the battlefield. The Ming army soldiers faced the rising sun, were silent for a moment, and then burst into warm cheers.

They knew that this was not only the gain and loss of the city of Fuzhou, but also the first step taken by the Ming Dynasty to recover Liaodong!
(End of this chapter)