Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 66 Dorgon’s Manifesto (Subscribe)

With Zhu Cilang's affirmation, Li Banghua's strategy of "learning from all strengths" quickly gained the support of a group of ministers in the hall.

After all, in comparison, Gao Hongtu's idea of ​​immediately leading his troops to the north and fighting a decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty was too radical and totally unacceptable. Although Li Banghua still insisted on large-scale military training, he could barely accept it.

However, although the issue of building the Jiangbei city defense was temporarily agreed upon, Ma Shiying did not give up. He immediately joined forces with his accomplice in the court, Liu Kongzhao, the Earl of Chengyi, and began to criticize Gao Hongtu for repeatedly ignoring reality and instigating the Northern Expedition, which was a shameful act of seeking fame and reputation!
Gao Hongtu has always valued his reputation and could not tolerate such slander. He immediately began to clear his name, but his voice was not as loud as Liu Kongzhao's.

Zhu Cilang did not use his authority as emperor to stop them immediately. Instead, he actively accepted their advice and claimed that he would send the Jinyiwei to investigate thoroughly. Only then did these ministers, who were arguing fiercely, finally calm down.

In fact, he also had some doubts about Gao Hongtu's repeated setbacks, but he was not discouraged and repeatedly threatened to launch an expedition to the north. He must have other intentions.

Although this minister was a man of strong character and integrity, he should not have been so stubborn, unless he knew clearly that what he said would not be accepted but still insisted on it.

After all, if there were no such radical voices, how could the equally proactive strategies of Li Banghua, Lu Zhenfei and others be able to suppress those officials in the court who wanted to live in peace in a corner and use the enemy to suppress the invaders?
The farce of the ministers attacking each other had just ended when Zheng Zhilong, who was far away in Fujian, was once again attacked by the crowd because of the previous issue of the deployment of the Fujian navy.

Zheng Hongkui was in the court at this time and instantly attracted all the firepower. Zhu Cilang had no intention of stopping him. He had to give the Zheng family a warning, and now it was just the beginning.

Through his previous inspections outside the palace, Zhu Cilang had basically figured out the details of the Palace Army. The training conditions of the Nanjing Jingying and the Jiangbei camps were also under the supervision of the Ministry of War and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was clear about their specific results.

The most critical issue now is that the navy of Nanzhili is still useless, and the navy of Zhejiang and Guangdong is far less powerful than that of the Zheng family. He still has to find ways to make Zheng Zhilong obey his orders.

If there is no decent navy to assist in defense, the difficulty of defense and counterattack will be greatly increased, whether it is the Huaihe River line or the Yangtze River line.

As time went on, with the launch of a series of actions such as collecting food and fodder, training the army, and building cities in the north of the Yangtze River, the prosperity of the new Dingwu Dynasty became increasingly apparent, and the situation west of the Yangtze River defense line also quietly changed.

In early September, two generals, Xu Yong and Li Guoying, who were entrenched in Wuchang under Zuo Liangyu, were finally successfully transferred by the Ministry of War and arranged to serve under He Tengjiao and Yuan Jixian, stationed in Jiujiang and Nanchang respectively.

Zuo Liangyu was already seriously ill at this time, and his control over the generals under his command was further weakened. The new emperor of the Ming Dynasty, whose reputation was growing, personally ordered the mobilization of troops, so he naturally could not stop everyone.

Of course, Zuo Liangyu was prestigious after all, and many of his generals still trusted him. They chose to wait and see the situation, and used various reasons to shirk the Ministry of War's transfer orders and continued to stay near Wuchang.

The emperor was far away and Zhu Cilang had no troops in Wuchang, so he had no way to restrain Zuo Liangyu and his generals. He could only acquiesce to this situation.

However, in order to prevent the future situation from becoming out of control as it did in history, he sent someone to convey a secret decree, indicating that in times of crisis, Zuo Liangyu could lead his troops eastward and station in Jiujiang and Nanchang areas.

This time, with the advance preparations of He Tengjiao and Yuan Jixian, and the fact that they had capable generals under their command, it was not so difficult to restrain Zuo Liangyu's army.

On the Huguang front, Du Yinxi, with the assistance of the generals sent by Qin Liangyu, trained the governor's battalion, and on the other hand, he actively reorganized the troops in western and southern Hunan, and raised money and food in preparation for transferring them to Yuezhou and Changsha.

He had no hope for the field combat capabilities of these new and weak soldiers under his command, so in addition to training them, he also vigorously repaired the city and strengthened its defenses, hoping to hold on and wait for rescue.

At this time, Huguang had no troops capable of fighting except Zuo Liangyu's army stationed in Wuchang.

In Sichuan, upon taking office, Wang Yingxiong spent all his family wealth to recruit thousands of men. With the help of Zhu Cilang's imperial edict, he gathered generals such as Wang Xiang and Zeng Ying to actively resist Zhang Xianzhong's army. Meanwhile, as the Jinyiwei advanced deeper into the area, military intelligence from the north regarding the war between Shunzhi and Qing began to trickle into Nanjing.

On the third day of October, Ye Chen and other Qing troops captured Taiyuan, and most areas of Shanxi soon submitted to the Qing court. The Qing army also sent troops south to take over Shandong, western Henan and other prefectures south of the Yellow River.

Not only that, as Zhu Cilang continued to keep his troops inactive, Dorgon saw that the situation was becoming increasingly favorable to him. In October, he finally decided to divide his troops into two routes to conquer the interior.

Along the way, the Qing Dynasty's Prince Ying Ajige, Prince Pingxi Wu Sangui, Prince Zhishun Shang Kexi and others led their troops through northern Shanxi and outside the Great Wall to attack northern Shaanxi. After succeeding, they advanced southward and destroyed the Dashun Yongchang regime.

Another route was led by the Qing Dynasty's Prince Yu Duoduo, Prince Gongshun Kong Youde, Prince Huaishun Geng Zhongming and others, who marched south to attack and destroy the armies in northern Jiangsu, then crossed the river to besiege Nanjing and eliminate the Ming Dynasty's "Dingwu Court".

To this end, on October 24, Dorgon issued a special manifesto, not only slandering Zhu Cilang as a fake prince, but also listing the three crimes of the "Dingwu Court" in an attempt to deny the legitimacy of the "Dingwu Court".

Faced with such false accusations, Zhu Cilang naturally ignored them completely. He did not recognize the Qing Dynasty as a country on par with the Ming Dynasty. However, this manifesto clearly conveyed the signal that the Qing Dynasty intended to use force against the South, which he could not ignore.

Not only Zhu Cilang, but also when this manifesto reached Nanzhili, Yingtianfu, and Nanjing City at the end of October, it directly caused a shock in the entire court.

"Your Majesty, our dynasty has been recuperating for half a year. Now that our army is strong and our horses are in great shape, we should strike first and catch these arrogant Tartars off guard."

"No, no, the Tartars are always despicable, cunning and fickle. Perhaps this is just a trick by the chieftain to provoke and lure the enemy. Your Majesty must not be fooled!"

"Why, are you afraid before the Tartars even attack? My Great Ming has the protection of the four gods and the support of the people of the world. This expedition is in accordance with the will of heaven and will surely be successful."

"Your Majesty, I request that you immediately move your imperial court to Zhongdu and issue a decree to have Gao Jie and Huang Degong's armies march north into Shandong, demonstrating your resolve to defeat the rebels and restore our country!"

In the court, as the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and the Minister of Revenue Gao Hongtu spoke again, the ministers who had been vying to express their ambition to march north finally quieted down because of the dramatic change in the situation and the rapid shift in positions.

"Immediately move the imperial court to Zhongdu and march north to Shandong?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but frown slightly. Gao Hongtu was still as radical as before, but this time no one dared to say that he was worrying too much, and no one dared to say that the Qing army was still a long way from marching south.

"That's right. Only in this way can the morale of the army be boosted, and the people of Shandong, Henan, and the capital will rise up to welcome the royal army."

Gao Hongtu spoke in a firm tone and looked very courageous.

"Moreover, Zhongdu is now garrisoned by the Marquis of Anguo, Liu Zeqing's troops, and the Palace Guards led by Your Majesty himself. After the Beijing Camp marches north, our army will have nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses. Your Majesty's safety will be absolutely undisturbed by the Tartar rebellion.

If we wait until the Qing army marches south, it will probably be too late!"

(End of this chapter)