Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 336 Intensifying
As the Ming army's counterattack officially began, the battlefield changed drastically within half an hour. The Qing army, which had originally had the upper hand, fell into chaos in an instant, like an overturned chess game.

Seeing the enemy's surging attack wave, the Qing army's line began to collapse, and the soldiers' morale collapsed in an instant like prey torn apart by wild beasts.

Before the generals on the battlefield could react, they realized that the situation was hopeless and the entire situation seemed to change dramatically in an instant.

But in the midst of all these changes, Zhu Cilang, Zhang Huangyan, Ma Bao and other high-ranking Ming army officials were not in a hurry to react.

Although the situation changed dramatically, their mood became more relaxed and the light in their eyes became more determined.

After weeks of preparation and rehearsal, all the hard work finally paid off, and the arrogant and elite troops of the Qing army were finally sent to the battlefield.

Moreover, the enemy's military strength was far less than twice theirs. How could the Ming army miss such a great opportunity?
Zhu Cilang rode on his warhorse, a smug smile on his face. Although he still held the dragon flag tightly, the flags of his personal guards had been replaced around him.

The arrow was still firmly stuck in his chest. Although the arrow had caused many soldiers to look at him strangely, Zhu Cilang remained unmoved.

At this moment, he was only thinking about how to defeat the enemy in front of him in one fell swoop and seize the upcoming victory.

Just as he was watching the development of the battle situation with pride, the Ming army's battle flags rose like a tide from inside and outside the various camps, and the swaying flags shone brightly in the dark night.

As the orders were issued, the morale of the Ming army soldiers grew stronger, and the long-awaited power of counterattack was finally released.

At this time, the Qing army was surrounded on the east, south and north sides, and even the central army camp was not spared.

The Ming army paid a heavy price, but at this moment they knew in their hearts that they would definitely win this battle.

Zhu Cilang restrained his smile slightly, and a deep light flashed in his eyes. He knew that if he could annihilate these three elite Qing troops in one fell swoop tonight, the outcome of the entire battle would be completely changed.

More importantly, unless Dorgon could quickly transfer a large army to reinforce from Liaozhong, Gaizhou City would be easily captured within a month.

At that time, not only would the elite of the Qing army be annihilated, but the entire battle situation would also tilt in favor of the Ming army. It would be unstoppable, and it would only be a matter of time before they captured more strategic locations.

At this time, the various Ming army units had begun to gradually complete the encirclement under the command of Zhu Cilang.

Whether it was the troops of Zhang Huangyan's central army in the west or the cavalry support of Ma Bao's troops in the east, they had already formed an overwhelming advantage on the battlefield.

Each Ming army unit accurately cut into the enemy's weaknesses and quickly established a defense line, giving the Qing army almost no chance to breathe.

Under such powerful pressure, the Qing army began to fall into an unprecedented predicament. Not only was its morale low, but even its most elite troops showed signs of vacillation.

At the same time, battle reports from Lin Changfeng and Gao Jie's troops continued to arrive.

Lin Changfeng's troops had successfully broken through the location of Zhu Cilang's central military tent and launched a more fierce offensive against the Qing army.

At the same time, Gao Jie's troops also formed a pincer attack from behind, completely changing the situation on the battlefield.

Although Jibai's blocking once organized a defense line, it was already in danger under the counterattack of such powerful firepower and could collapse at any time.

Just as the situation became increasingly tense, the western camp did not stop its advance. The more than 10,000 soldiers led by Zhang Huangyan, plus the support troops under Chang Qingshan, had completely cut into the flank of the Qing army.

To the east, Ma Bao's troops joined forces with Li Benshen's troops to form a pincer attack, which continued to put tremendous pressure on the Qing army.

Originally, Li Benshen was somewhat dissatisfied because he was jealous of Ma Bao's career, and wanted to sit back and watch the other party fight with the Qing army, and then take action after the enemy was exhausted.

But when Zhu Cilang issued the urgent order, he understood his position. Since he had been summoned, he could no longer hesitate.

According to the strategic deployment of the Ming army's top leaders, the three cavalry battalions had quietly circled to the outskirts of the Qing army camp.

Nearly 7,000 cavalrymen had already removed the wooden boards outside the camp in advance, preparing to take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and launch a powerful attack.

As long as the Qing army was forced out of the camp, they would suffer severe losses again in the trenches outside the camp, and the Ming cavalry battalion would launch a fierce charge at the right time, dealing a fatal blow to the enemy and ensuring victory.

However, at this critical moment, the situation of the Qing army became increasingly worse.

With the interweaving of violent explosions, shouts and flames, the Ming army's encirclement became tighter and tighter, the Qing army's defense line gradually collapsed, and morale was completely lost.

The originally confident Qing army commander was now in a panic, but Zhu Cilang, standing on the battlefield, remained calm as water, commanding his troops to advance forward.

The Ming army's response far exceeded the Qing army's expectations, especially in terms of manpower and mobility, showing great advantages.

In particular, the central army camp where Zhu Cilang was located was originally considered the easiest target to break through during the Qing army's night attack. However, due to the Ming army's quick response, it suddenly became indestructible.

The Qing army's attack was obviously unexpected, and facing the imminent encirclement, Jibai reacted extremely quickly. Before he could completely complete the encirclement of the central army camp, the Ming troops on the east and west sides had almost completely escaped the encirclement.

At this time, the situation that was originally overwhelming began to gradually turn to the favor of the Ming army.

This was also one of the situations that the Qing army was most worried about, especially when the night attack plan was first formulated, Fan Wencheng and Ji Bai were well aware of this.

Despite their careful plan, the two men still did not completely rule out the possibility that the Ming army might come prepared, especially considering the enemy's superior military strength.

In fact, Fan Wencheng and Ji Bai's original plan was that if they could cut off Zhu Cilang's command system through a surprise attack, causing chaos in the Ming army's central camp, then the Ming army on the east and west sides would inevitably fall into chaos due to the loss of command, leading to the collapse of the entire position.

At this time, Jibai and Yang Gao could take the opportunity to attack, break through the Ming army's defense line, completely disrupt the opponent's deployment, and win.

However, despite their detailed strategies and tactics, especially with the support of 4,000 elite troops led by Jibai and Yang Gao, the Qing army's night attack was unexpectedly successful and almost achieved its intended goal.

However, all plans were based on one assumption: Zhu Cilang would choose to retreat, or at least abandon the guards of the imperial camp and distance himself from his command center on the battlefield.

But the fact is that Zhu Cilang not only did not retreat, but instead showed shocking determination and indomitable spirit.

When the Ming army's personal guards assembled under the command of Zhu Cilang and resolutely resisted Yang Gao's fierce attack, the entire battle situation changed dramatically in an instant.

At that moment, Zhu Cilang not only did not choose to escape, but instead reversed the Qing army's offensive with his firm determination. He put almost all of his imperial camp soldiers into battle, which caught the Qing army off guard.

Under the heroic leadership of Zhu Cilang, the soldiers of the imperial camp successfully withstood the attack of the Qing army, putting Yang Gao's main offensive into trouble.

The Ming army's fighting will became stronger and stronger, and its morale reached its peak at one point, while the Qing army seemed exhausted and fell into a passive position.

All this was obviously something Fan Wencheng and Ji Bai had not anticipated.

Zhu Cilang's reaction disappointed them greatly. Not only did he not choose to escape, he even put himself in a more dangerous situation and vowed to defend his dignity to the death.

Similarly, although Jibai was eager to make a contribution, he made the decision to retreat as soon as he realized that the situation was not right.

In his opinion, if he could quickly command Yang Gao to block the enemy in front and lead his troops to retreat, everything might still be saved.

However, with the strong counterattack of the Ming cavalry, he soon realized that this retreat was not so easy.

The Ming army's encirclement plan had gradually taken shape. If the Qing army retreated rashly at this time, it would definitely be divided and surrounded by the Ming army's cavalry.

Therefore, Jibai had no choice but to make tactical adjustments. He decided to try his best to delay time by "repelling one wave and then retreating" in the shortest possible time, and assigned Tangma to bring Zhang Li's troops to support.

Jibai is not a rash commander who acts rashly. After years of battlefield experience, he has already developed a set of emergency response strategies.

In a seemingly critical situation, he did not choose to act blindly, but instead kept calm and quickly analyzed the current situation.

After a brief analysis, he realized that the Ming army's encirclement plan had taken shape, but he still had the opportunity to take the initiative before the Ming army completed the encirclement.

He acted decisively and commanded his elite troops to launch an interception, trying to delay the Ming army's encirclement and use this to disrupt Gao Jie's encirclement line. However, although Jibai was able to remain calm and adopt effective tactical responses, the situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

He knew that although a temporary delay could avoid an immediate defeat, as the Ming army gradually gathered its forces, the Qing army would face tremendous pressure once their encirclement was completed.

At that time, unless they received reinforcements from Fan Wencheng, they would have no choice but to retreat to preserve themselves and their remaining troops.

In fact, Jibai and Yang Gao's troops were not superior in strength, especially when facing the counterattack of the elite cavalry of the Ming army, the Qing army's disadvantage became more obvious.

Although the Qing army made some progress in the initial stage, with the arrival of Ming army reinforcements, the situation gradually turned in favor of the Ming army.

Although Fan Wencheng and Ji Bai had mastered some advantageous tactical arrangements, there were still significant loopholes in their overall strategy - they underestimated Zhu Cilang's determination and overestimated their ability to control the Ming army's response.

In the end, facing the increasingly severe situation, Jibai could only order a further retreat and command Yang Gao to maintain the line, delay time, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The Qing army's retreat was not a simple retreat, but it had to adopt a tactical approach of continuous maneuvering to avoid pursuit by the Ming army.

Although the final retreat went smoothly, it was obvious that Fan Wencheng and Jibai's night attack plan had completely failed.

Zhu Cilang, with his firm determination and courageous command, not only successfully defended the central army camp, but also saved the entire battle situation at a critical moment, putting the Qing army into a difficult situation.

This situation obviously brought a profound lesson to Fan Wencheng and Ji Bai - they not only underestimated the reaction speed of the Ming army, but also overestimated their ability to control the battle situation.

Fan Wencheng had been standing on the city wall of Gaizhou City, staring at the battlefield outside the city filled with smoke and flames.

The southern city wall was covered with more than fifty cannons of various sizes, including more than ten red cannons.

Artillery positions were surrounded by well-defended troops and guarded by thousands of elite soldiers, making the defense inside and outside the city walls appear almost perfect.

Fan Wencheng knew that although the Ming army was not weak in offensive, he was convinced that they could not break through such a solid defense line.

After all, this is not only the result of his careful planning over the years, but also the great efforts made by all the senior Qing army leaders to ensure the stability of Gaizhou.

However, despite such sufficient defenses, Fan Wencheng still stood motionless on the city wall, his eyes as sharp as an eagle scanning the distance.

Even though he was so determined, a sense of uneasiness began to arise in his heart - the Ming army camp in the distance was already filled with thick smoke.

Although he was several miles away, he could still hear the sounds of gunfire and shouts becoming clearer and clearer. It seemed as if those sounds had penetrated the layers of battle fog and reached his ears.

The sounds were getting closer, louder, and even a little harsh.

Fan Wencheng's brows unconsciously frowned, and the uneasiness in his heart gradually grew.

At this time, there were horses coming in and out of the city, and military reports came in.

The news just received was all good news. The offensives of the Ming army on the east and west wings and the center seemed to be firmly blocked by the Qing army. The Ming army's attack seemed to be unable to cope with the situation. Even Zhang Li, a general who had always been conservative and cautious, was eager to lead his troops to win some military merits.

Fan Wencheng could have easily agreed, but he didn't agree immediately.

After several inquiries and careful consideration, he knew that such an attack must be cautious and not be quick to achieve success.

Even if the current situation seems favorable, an overly aggressive strategy may put everything in vain.

However, as time went on, the situation began to take a turn for the worse.

In less than an hour, the initial good news turned into an ominous sign.

The main force in the middle was firmly blocked. Instead of retreating, the Ming army launched a more fierce counterattack.

Then, the east and west wings were gradually suppressed by the Ming army, and the situation deteriorated rapidly.

What was most worrying was that the troops in the west, led by Lin Chengde and Ned, suddenly received an urgent report from Tangma, saying that they had been unable to break through the enemy's encirclement for some time, and the situation was once at a stalemate.

"Emperor Ming actually...actually didn't retreat, actually..."

Fan Wencheng held tightly in his hand the latest military report sent back by Ji Bai. He was so angry that his whole body was shaking, his teeth were clenched, and his voice was low and angry.

The paper roll in his hand was almost crumpled into a ball. He had never expected that what was supposed to be a fierce night attack would be resisted by Zhu Cilang alone, giving the Ming army a chance to counterattack.

If he had been able to remain calm before, at this moment, his anger and worry were intertwined, and the anxiety in his heart became more intense.

The Ming army was not without the ability to counterattack. If Zhu Cilang stubbornly refused to withdraw his troops, the situation would become more complicated and difficult to handle.

A cold light flashed in Fan Wencheng's eyes. Without hesitation, he immediately gave the order:

"Send someone to urge Zhang Li to lead his troops to support Ji Bai and Yang Gao's troops. We must provide assistance as soon as possible."

This was also the emergency plan that Fan Wencheng and other senior Qing army officers in Gaizhou City had already agreed upon. According to the original plan, if the night attack was successful, they could completely destroy the Ming army's camp and cut off the enemy's subsequent support in one fell swoop.

But if things go against their wishes and they encounter unfavorable situations, they must make adjustments immediately and withdraw elite troops to preserve their strength.

This is a battle that determines the future outcome. Fan Wencheng is fully aware of its importance and will never allow himself to make any mistakes at such a critical moment.

"Guoshi, what's the news from the front?"

At this time, Xu Shilin, the usually arrogant and domineering imperial guard, came over, his tone was somewhat tentative and fearful.

Xu Shilin always considered himself to be of prominent status and did not take Fan Wencheng too seriously, but under the pressure of this war, even he felt the unprecedented tension.

Fan Wencheng did not answer immediately, but stared at the battlefield in the distance with no expression on his face, as if he was completely unaware of Xu Shilin's question.

After a moment, he slowly spoke:
"The situation on the front lines is not optimistic. Emperor Ming is refusing to retreat, and our forces are facing numerous difficulties. Zhang Li's troops have not yet set out. If we don't act quickly now, I'm afraid it will be too late."

Fan Wencheng's tone at this moment was calm and resolute, but the anxiety in his heart still could not be dispelled.

He kept thinking in his mind, if Jin Li still didn't take action, should he go and urge him in person?

Suddenly, a messenger came running in, panting and handing over a new military report. Fan Wencheng took it and quickly scanned it. He saw the following words written on the paper:

"Lin Chengde's troops are heavily surrounded in the west and are unable to break out. Reinforcements are urgently needed."

This brief message was like a bolt from the blue, causing Fan Wencheng's heart to sink. He knew that if he did not take action quickly, the entire battle situation would collapse.

Fan Wencheng's eyes turned cold and he took a deep breath:

"Contact Zhang Li immediately. We must dispatch troops as quickly as possible to support the western forces before the enemy completely encircles them."

Although the defense line of Gaizhou City is strong, if a breakthrough is made in the west, the enemy may split the Qing army's forces at any time, or even disintegrate the entire camp from within.

Fan Wencheng was thinking silently in his mind that he could not delay any longer and had to regain the initiative as soon as possible.

He looked into the distance again, and a heavy premonition surged in his heart...

(End of this chapter)