Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 346 A great victory
When Ma Bao knocked Saige's spear away with a powerful sweep, he did not rush to celebrate his victory. Instead, he quickly turned his horse's head and rode straight towards Saige, his eyes as sharp as an eagle and full of murderous intent.

Saige struggled to keep his footing and tried to grab the sword at hand, but at this time, another Manchu warrior, a Melezhangjing under Saige's command, rode his horse to fight without knowing the danger, trying to block the fatal blow for his leader.

Ma Bao's eyes darkened, and he swung the iron spear in his hand like lightning. With a "puff", the long spear pierced through the armor and went straight through the chest, and blood splattered.

Na Meilezhangjing didn't even have time to scream before he was pierced through the heart and fell off his horse and died.

The attack was so decisive and effective that the surrounding Qing army guards all gasped and fell into complete silence.

The Manchu warriors around Saige - those first-class guards and first-class escorts, the "elite troops" who were originally placed with high hopes, were all stunned when they saw their commander killed in an instant, and the weapons in their hands trembled with fear.

Their commander, Saige, also staggered to his feet with the help of the guards, his face full of astonishment and shock.

He never expected that the Han Chinese in front of him would possess such extraordinary skills.

Before Saige could think deeply, Ma Bao's warhorse was already charging at him like thunder. He gritted his teeth and drew his sword from his waist, trying to fight with his last bit of strength.

However, his actions were in vain in Ma Bao's eyes. Ma Bao swung his spear down again, and with a crisp "clang" sound, the waist knife in Saige's hand broke.

Immediately afterwards, the long spear whizzed through the air and went straight for Sage's head.

A blood mist gushed up, and Sage's head rolled to the ground. His body, which had no time to react, swayed on the warhorse and finally fell backwards weakly.

The flag of the Manchu Beile - the flag that symbolized the commander-in-chief of the Qing army - also fell to the ground with a loud bang under the fierce sword swings of Ma Bao's personal soldiers, raising dust.

Saige's death was like a fatal thorn piercing the heart of the Qing army. The faith and courage that the Qing army had been struggling to maintain collapsed in an instant like a flood bursting a dam.

After witnessing the death of their commander, the Qing soldiers had lost the will to continue fighting. The collapse of morale quickly spread throughout the army. The fierce momentum they had previously maintained had now turned into panic and despair.

At the same time, the morale of the Ming army soldiers was boosted by this victory. As the head of the Manchu prince fell to the ground, fighting spirit ignited in the eyes of every Ming soldier. They wielded their swords and spears more swiftly and powerfully, and the shouts of killing were deafening.

As the saying goes, morale is as high as a rainbow, and confidence is the foundation of victory.

When soldiers believe victory is within reach, they act more decisively and attack more fiercely.

On the contrary, the Qing army lost all confidence because of the death of their main general, and the so-called elite camp was like a candle in the wind, and ultimately could not hold on.

This Qing army, which was originally divided into three parts, had shown great tenacity in several previous battles, but was now exhausted.

Once morale collapses, the so-called "elite" are nothing more than ordinary soldiers, and may even be worse than the defeated soldiers.

The saying "a defeat is like a mountain collapsing" was vividly demonstrated in this battle.

The Qing soldiers began to flee for their lives, and whether they tried to break through or resist on the spot, they seemed to be disorganized.

However, at this moment, their situation was desperate: tens of thousands of Ming troops surrounded them on all sides, with cavalry blocking the front and back, and dense musketeers and artillerymen on the left and right.

No matter how the remnants of the Qing army struggled, it was all in vain.

Most of the Qing army chose to break out, but because they did not know the direction, they were in chaos. Some soldiers panicked and tried to rush to the gaps on both sides.

However, as soon as they approached the two sides of the position, they were met with volleys of fire from the Ming army musketeers who had been lying in ambush for a long time.

As the sound of gunfire rang out, flames flickered in the smoke and dust. Rows of Qing soldiers fell in a pool of blood, their bodies piled on top of each other, and their blood dyed the soil red.

Those Qing troops who broke out in a hurry seemed completely unable to resist the encirclement and attack of the Ming cavalry and infantry.

Some Manchu soldiers tried to climb up the nearby heights to avoid the fire, but were bombarded down the hillside by Ming army artillerymen ambushed on the heights, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

Some people simply dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy, but in front of the murderous Ming soldiers, these surrenderers had no chance of survival.

White smoke rose continuously on the hillsides on both sides, as if covering the entire valley.

The Qing cavalry tried to take advantage of the chaos to rush to the hillside, but they did not expect that the Ming army's ambush was so precise. Hundreds of cavalry fell to the ground amid the sound of gunfire.

The lead bullets made a dull thud when they hit the target, blood splattered, and a bloody mist filled the air. In the blink of an eye, the hillside had become a Shura field with corpses everywhere.

Those war horses that did not die instantly struggled particularly miserably. More than a dozen horses fell to the ground, kicking their four hooves violently, neighing in pain, their bodies twitching in pain, and the fear and despair in their eyes were unbearable to look at.

Blood gushed out from the wound and gathered into a pool of scarlet blood under his body. He finally stopped his futile struggle until his breath stopped.

Although the ambush planned by Chang Denggui failed to achieve the expected result and only wiped out more than a thousand of Saige's guards, it still dealt a heavy blow to the main force of the Qing army.

When the news that this vanguard unit was ambushed and annihilated reached the Qing army camp, the morale of the Qing army, which had been originally high, suddenly plummeted.

At this moment, facing the Ming army's sinister ambush tactics, Dorgon had to act cautiously, knowing that further advances would only lead to greater losses.

Therefore, when Chang Denggui quickly gathered his troops and attacked from the south, Dorgon felt that the situation was unfavorable with the enemy in the dark and us in the light, so he had to grit his teeth and order a withdrawal.

Although he was unwilling to retreat, the Ming army's rhythm had clearly gained the upper hand at this time.

Thousands of Qing soldiers who were left behind to block the Ming army became victims and were almost wiped out, especially the two elite White Banner soldiers among the Eight Banners of Manchuria, who lost nearly a thousand people in this battle alone.

This heavy blow completely destroyed the Qing army's accumulated momentum since its victory on the way south. After this battle, the morale of the Qing army was low and its combat operations began to become cautious.

For a period of time after the war, the main forces of the Ming and Qing armies confronted each other in the area east of Gaizhou City and west of Xinqiang River.

This battlefield became the focus of contention between the two sides, especially the two deserted villages located in the western part of the front line, which changed hands many times and the fighting was fierce and brutal.

Just for these two slightly remote villages, both sides suffered hundreds of casualties.

However, what really determined the direction of this war was not these local conflicts, but the Gaizhou battlefield where the main forces of the two armies gathered.

Here, it was a battle of siege and attack tactics. The goal of the Ming army was obvious, which was to delay the Qing army, weaken its reinforcements, and then wait for an opportunity to launch a general attack on Gaizhou City.

The Qing army's top brass were obviously well aware of this, and they were not willing to risk sacrificing their main forces in a head-on confrontation with the Ming army.

Even Dorgon, a battle-hardened commander, was cautious about relying on a decisive battle to win. It was not that he did not want to defeat the main force of the Ming army in one fell swoop, but the problem was that the current situation did not give him enough chances of winning.

At the same time, the Ming army commander Zhu Cilang was also extremely anxious. He hoped to capture Gaizhou City as soon as possible to gain greater strategic advantage for the Ming army.

However, the Qing army led by Fan Wencheng and Jirgalang defended tightly and put up layers of resistance, making it difficult for Zhu Cilang to find a breakthrough for a while.

At this moment, the news of Chang Denggui's victory in the ambush reached the Ming army camp. This news was like a shot in the arm, which made Zhu Cilang, who had been working hard for days, in a good mood.

He sat upright in the main seat of the central military tent, his face calm, but his heart was already surging with waves.

"Good! Good fight!" Zhu Cilang whispered to himself, his excitement barely concealed in his voice.

Then, he calmly swept his gaze over the generals in the tent. As the commander-in-chief, he knew he had to remain calm and dignified, not revealing too much emotion. He pondered for a moment, forcibly suppressing the joy in his heart. In the end, he just nodded slightly and said in a very restrained tone:

"Not bad, keep up the good work."

Although these four words were concise and to the point, they lifted the spirits of the generals in the tent.

Zhu Cilang's calm performance invisibly boosted morale and sent a signal that victory was certain. At this moment, he was not only the commander-in-chief of the Ming army, but also the spiritual pillar of this war.

Zhu Cilang looked solemn, tapping his fingers lightly on the table a few times, and then gave the order in a deep voice:

"Send an order, allocate another 5,000 troops and quickly attack the two deserted villages to the north and west. Intensify the offensive and increase the military pressure on the Qing army. We must force Dorgon to fight a decisive battle!"

His orders were decisive and clear. The generals in the camp acted accordingly and quickly left to carry out their different tasks.

Only Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen were left in the big tent, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Zhang Mingzhen's appearance in the military camp was not without reason.

He had just returned from Nanjing and, after handling a series of rear-line affairs, became worried about the looming unrest in the situation in the south.

The recent movements of pirates in Guangdong and Guangxi have been unusual. Zhang Mingzhen, an important force against the Zheng family, knows that the north-south front is closely linked to the whole front, so he personally escorts food and military supplies to Liaodong to report military intelligence.

When Zhu Cilang saw Zhang Mingzhen, he raised his hand and motioned him to sit down, his tone filled with concern and inquiry:
"Hou Fu, how's the situation in Guangdong and Guangxi? And what about Fujian? Has Zheng Zhilong been quiet lately?"

Zhang Mingzhen bowed and said in a calm tone:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Zheng Zhilong seems to have been ill and bedridden for a long time. He is currently recuperating in the Fuzhou government office.

It was very strange that his nephew temporarily took control of Fujian's maritime affairs, while Zheng Sen was marginalized.

The Fuzhou government office is heavily guarded, with three layers of guards inside and outside. While it may seem stable, we still need to be wary of unpredictable events."

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly after hearing this, his eyes deep:

"It seems that Zheng Zhilong is somewhat determined to keep his troops inactive, but he has a fickle temperament and may not be able to remain inactive for long.

Although he is not as rebellious as Li Guo, he still has ambitions, which makes people feel uneasy.

At this point, Zhu Cilang's expression relaxed slightly, and he asked:
"Ma Bao's contribution this time was immense. What do you think of the reward that should be given to him to live up to his achievements?"

When he said this, his tone was a little casual, but his brows revealed a desire to establish his authority and set an example.

In front of his confidants, Zhu Cilang did not hide his true intentions.

He needed a grand reward ceremony, not only to commend his meritorious officials, but also to show the world that he, the emperor, was good at rewarding and punishing, and that his efforts were not in vain.

In fact, he knew in his heart that whether it was Zheng Zhilong, Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Hao Yaoqi, or Zuo Menggeng, these forces that surrendered but did not submit, obeyed the court on the surface, but were not necessarily truly submissive in their hearts.

His throne as emperor was indeed stable, but there were still hidden dangers, especially before the overall situation of destroying the Qing Dynasty was determined, he was unable to free up his hands to completely resolve these hidden dangers.

Zhang Huangyan saw this and said after a moment's thought:
"Your Majesty, Ma Bao won a great victory this time, defeating thousands of Eight Banner soldiers and beheading over 1,700 Zhenyi and 2,000 bannermen. The results are brilliant, and it is truly an example of defeating a larger force with a smaller force.

Such illustrious military achievements deserve no less than the title of Duke or Earl!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded with satisfaction and turned his gaze to Zhang Mingzhen:

"Hou Fu, what do you think?"

Zhang Mingzhen bowed and replied:
"Your Majesty, General Ma Bao single-handedly turned the tide of war. His bravery and military exploits are enough to earn him the title of Earl, or even a Duke.

However, the success of this war was largely due to the efforts of Chang Denggui, who took charge of the overall situation and made careful plans.

I believe that Chang Denggui, as the commander-in-chief, should also be rewarded generously to demonstrate fairness in rewarding merit."

Zhu Cilang tapped the table lightly and pondered for a moment.

He knew very well that although Ma Bao was brave and good at fighting, without Chang Denggui's overall planning and dispatch, this victory might not have been so complete.

Rewarding Ma Bao handsomely can certainly set an example, but ignoring Chang Denggui's achievements will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers. He needs a balance, a decision that can both establish prestige and reassure the people.

"What Xuanzhu and Houfu said makes perfect sense." Zhu Cilang looked up at the two of them, his tone firm and gentle:

“Since both of them have made great contributions in this battle, I have decided to confer the title of Earl on Ma Bao to commend his outstanding military achievements.

As for Chang Denggui, I will discuss further conferring titles and offering generous rewards! What do you two nobles think?

Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen responded in unison:

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

After agreeing on the rewards, Zhu Cilang slowed down his tone and started chatting with the two of them.

He asked about the details of Zhang Mingzhen's rear affairs and about Zhang Huangyan's recent feelings in the army. The two answered one by one in sincere words.

Zhang Mingzhen said:
"Your Majesty, after this battle, our army's morale has been greatly boosted, and the soldiers in each battalion are even more determined to fight bravely. However, I still feel that the situation in Liaodong cannot be underestimated.

Although Dorgon suffered a series of heavy losses, his ability to adapt should not be underestimated."

Zhang Huangyan also said:

“I believe that although we currently have the upper hand, the winter in Liaodong is extremely cold, and logistical supplies are particularly important.

Your Majesty, take advantage of the enemy's fatigue and launch a few surprise attacks to quickly defeat them. Otherwise, if the battle is prolonged, our army will not be able to sustain it for long."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement, then stood up and waved his hand, saying:

"Thank you for your hard work, my dear ministers. The outcome of this battle is still uncertain. You must each fulfill your duties and do not slack off."

The two men took the order and left, and silence returned to the tent.

Zhu Cilang stood alone, looking through the curtain at the northern sky with a solemn expression.

He knew that the Battle of Liaodong was a key step in his efforts to restore the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, and every step needed to be carefully considered and no mistakes were allowed.

(End of this chapter)