Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 78 Post-War Deployment
After the rebel army outside the city was defeated in a battle, Chang Denggui immediately led his troops back to the city. In less than an hour, he wiped out the remaining two or three hundred rebel soldiers in Suizhou City.

Zhu Cilang had no intention of forgiving Xu Dingguo and Xu Er'an, father and son, who had been secretly contacting the Qing army. He directly ordered Chang Denggui to hang the two on the top of Suizhou City and expose their bodies for ten days to serve as a warning to others.

This is the fate of being a traitor to the Ming Dynasty. Anyone who has any evil intentions in the future will have to think carefully about whether his head is tough enough!

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang quickly summoned the civil and military officials who had accompanied him, and in the ruined lobby of the government office in Suizhou City, he deployed the arrangements for several prefectures and counties in Guide Prefecture.

Chen Qianfu was appointed as the governor of Henan, and was also the junior minister of the Imperial Household and the military inspector to guard the area. Sang Kaidi was also promoted and appointed as the inspector of Fengyang, stationed in Haozhou to guard against the Qing army.

"I will live and die with Guide, and will never let a single Qing soldier successfully march south from Guide!" Chen Qianfu was appreciated by Zhu Cilang and was promoted successively. He was very excited and immediately issued a military order.

"I will never let your majesty down. As long as Haozhou City is alive, I will be alive. As long as Haozhou City is destroyed, I will die!" Sang Kaidi also swore with the mentality of a scholar dying for his friend.

These two local officials, who were once unpopular, were now promoted by Zhu Cilang. They can be regarded as disciples of the emperor in a sense. As long as there are no problems in the defense zone, they will definitely have a bright future.

"There is no need to defend Guide to the death. Suizhou and Ningling are so dilapidated, and the provincial capital has not been repaired or reinforced. How can we defend it?" As soon as Zhu Cilang opened his mouth, he shocked everyone who was eager to try and ready to show their loyalty.

"Guide Prefecture is the only route the Qing army must take as they march south from the west. After Duoduo's western expedition to defeat Shun, he will surely lead his troops to attack immediately. Otherwise, how can he safely recapture the various prefectures in Henan, and how can he test the military situation in Southern Zhili?"

"Your Majesty, if you only give me one year, I will be able to train thousands of elite soldiers and store the food and grass needed for defense. The city of Guide Prefecture has not been destroyed by the rebels yet. I will fight to the death and I will definitely be able to defend it." Chen Qianfu vowed and looked very confident.

"Duoduo is about to march south. Chen Qing, we don't have a year to prepare, only a little over two months. In such a short time, can you train elite troops and store up food and fodder?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head, then looked around at the civil and military officials who were still immersed in the joy of pacifying the rebellion, and then said:

"Someone just suggested that I take advantage of the great victory in suppressing the rebellion and the main force of the Qing army marching west, leaving the Central Plains empty, to lead the army north. I didn't consider it at all and rejected it directly. This is the reason.

By the time our army is assembled and the food and supplies are transported, it will be at least half a month later. If we march north to attack the Qing, we will have to travel all the way. I'm afraid Duoduo will catch up before we even start fighting Haoge north of the Yellow River."

The great victory won by the Palace Army just now has given Zhu Cilang's words greater credibility. After all, the best way for a leader to gain prestige is to achieve success.

Now, no one in the court, whether civil or military, dares to look down on His Majesty the Emperor, who controls a truly powerful army.

However, some people still raised questions about military and national affairs that concerned the life and death of the imperial court. After all, Gao Jie was an old subordinate of Li Zicheng and was born in Shaanxi. He had some understanding of Li Zicheng's strength and the terrain of Shaanxi.

"Your Majesty, although the Qing army is powerful, they only launched their troops from Beijing in October. Even Ajige's troops should have just entered Yan'an Prefecture by now, and Duoduo has only just reached Tongguan. The rebels have hundreds of thousands of troops, so they should not be defeated in a month!"

After saying this, Gao Jie secretly glanced at the people within his sight, as if worried that his words were not convincing enough, and then added:

"Leaving aside the impregnable Tongguan Pass, even if the Tartars brought their heavy artillery, they would not be able to break through Xi'an in less than a year or two.

Northern Shaanxi is the home of the rebels, and the terrain is complex, not suitable for cavalry deployment. As long as 30,000 to 50,000 troops are deployed, they will be able to delay most of the Qing troops heading south from the north, and even launch a desperate counterattack. "

"Tongguan is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Xi'an City is indeed indestructible, but what if Li Zicheng fails to defend it?" Zhu Cilang smiled and said something shocking again.

"Do not keep?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the ministers were shocked and began to talk at once.

"How could they not defend themselves? Could it be that they have lost their courage after suffering such a series of defeats?"

"Western Henan has now been completely occupied by the Qing army. If Shaanxi is not defended, where else can the rebels go?"

"The rebels are just bandits after all. They even surrendered the capital to the Tartars. Isn't Taiyuan strong enough? Didn't they fail to hold it?"

"That's right. When the late emperor was personally guarding the capital, the Qing army entered the Great Wall six times without incident. But what about the rebellion?"

"That's different, but we can't rely on others to help us. We have to rely on ourselves to repel the Qing army."

"It seems that what you said does make some sense."

"If we don't defend, the Qing army will indeed be able to turn east and move south in January or February, taking with them the surrendered soldiers from Shaanxi, and within 20 to 30 days, swallow up Henan and then attack the south in March."

Huang Degong's throat was shaking when he said these words. He knew how strong the military force this meant, but judging from the military intelligence previously reported by the Jinyiwei, the Qing army was indeed so powerful!
"Destroy Shun in three months, and then march south?" Gao Hongtu sneered after hearing this: "That's absolutely impossible!"

"Yes, how could the Qing army move so quickly? Even the rebels who have always been roaming around and are famous for their running ability could not move so fast. What's more, the Qing army had to capture the prefectures of Shaanxi and Henan first." Chen Zilong also said.

"That's not impossible. From May to September, just half a year, the Qing army occupied northern Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, and northern Henan, covering a thousand miles of land. The rebels continued to fight back at Shanhaiguan, the capital, and various places in Shanxi, but they were all defeated miserably."

Ma Shiying wasn't sure if the Qing army was really that fast, but since His Majesty said it was, he naturally had to support it. Furthermore, he truly hoped that after Zhu Cilang saw the strength of the Qing army, he would abandon his Northern Expedition plan and negotiate peace with the Qing army. This would allow him to preserve half of his territory, and he could also work with Shi Kefa to drive out Li Banghua, Gao Hongtu, Lü Daqi, and others.

"This time, the Qing army set out in October, captured Shaanxi in January and February, and annexed Henan in March. That's exactly five months. Your Majesty is known for his foresight, and how can we, mediocre people, judge you? Lord Gao, don't be so self-righteous!"

"You" Gao Hongtu was furious for a moment, but he was speechless after being rebuked.

After Ma Shiying's analysis, all the ministers fell silent again. No one dared to speak for a while. They had just won a victory and the situation was very good. How could it be a matter of life and death now?

Most of them never realized that from the moment the Qing army entered the pass, the Ming Dynasty was always in danger of life and death.

It's just that these useless ministers have no ambition and are full of illusions. They keep shouting about learning from history and think they can live in peace in a corner.

"What Ma Qing said is right. Judging from the speed at which the rebels were defeated before, Duoduo will lead his troops south in March. In this short period of time, what can you, Chen Qing, do in Guide Prefecture?" Zhu Cilang immediately agreed.

After hearing this, Chen Qianfu was speechless for a moment. He really could not do anything in three months. Even raising food and fodder was impossible. They had to transport them from Nanzhili.

He thought the situation was going well, but it suddenly deteriorated to such an extent. He was totally unprepared and had no idea how to respond except to obey orders!
Zhu Cilang seemed to have been prepared. Seeing this, he continued:

"But Guide Prefecture still needs someone to defend it for a while. I want to be aware of the Qing army's movements as soon as possible. If Duoduo really goes south in March, he will first capture the entire Henan Province to ensure a safe retreat, and Guide Prefecture is the key to this.

"Chen Qing, you have two most important tasks while stationed here. One is to gather intelligence on the military advance from Nanyang and Luoyang towards Kaifeng. The other is to fortify the city walls, clear the fields, and evacuate the civilians until Duoduo's army arrives. Then, destroy the city walls and march south to Haozhou."

"I will definitely live up to your mission!" Chen Qianfu bowed his hands, clasped his fists, and bowed his waist.

"Mr. Sang, you must continue to make preparations in Haozhou, strengthen the city walls, and support the soldiers and civilians from Guide Prefecture. If Duoduo fails to capture this city, he will continue to move south and will not engage in excessive entanglement. You just need to hold on for the first few days." Zhu Cilang said to Sang Kaidi again.

"I obey your order!" Sang Kaidi also bowed and clasped his fists.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang took this opportunity to arrange the deployment of Xuzhou, Huai'an and Luzhou.

"Gao Jie, you are in Xuzhou Prefecture. Apart from the prefectural capital and one or two strong cities that support each other, the other cities can be temporarily abandoned. The specific deployment is up to you.

However, the city's supplies and civilians all need to be moved ahead of time. After you return to Xuzhou, you and Yan Yingyuan will carefully consider these matters and make sure to contain some of the Qing troops heading south."

This means allowing Gao Jie to act at his convenience and preserve his strength. After all, Xuzhou is too important. From a geopolitical perspective, Zhu Cilang must ensure that this hub is in his own hands in order to seize the initiative in the Jiangbei battlefield.

After six months of training, Gao Jie's troops now number over 600 elite cavalrymen, all equipped with sophisticated armor. They will undoubtedly be used to pursue and intercept the Qing army's retreat northward, with remarkable effectiveness. Furthermore, as long as this obstacle remains in the north, Duoduo will not dare to move south easily. Furthermore, Huai'an is being defended by Huang Degong, and Yangzhou by Zhu Dadian, making both difficult to attack. Even if Duoduo were to move south, he would be forced to lay siege for a while.

"Huang Degong, your deployment in Huai'an is most important east of the Grand Canal, especially south of the Huai River. If the Qing army wants to advance to Yangzhou without taking Fengyang and Huai'an, they must divide their forces. Then, you can boldly launch harassment attacks to force their main force back north.

The cities east of Huai'an have taken in hundreds of thousands of civilians. I will dispatch our navy to assist in the battle. As long as the Qing army doesn't send out its main force, we will contain them and prevent them from advancing eastward."

Zhu Cilang knew Huang Degong's loyalty, so he did not let him try his best to stop the enemy. Instead, he attacked the Qing army's small forces to preserve his strength.

Not only that, although Huang Fei's navy was arranged by Zhu Cilang in Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, the more powerful Zheng family navy was arranged by him in Hongze Lake between Sizhou and Huai'an.

The small boats in the Zheng family navy could travel without sails. When the river water rose in May, they could go north along the Yellow River to Xuzhou and communicate with the garrisons in the two places.

"Liu Zeqing, your mission is to capture Luzhou Prefecture. If the Qing army sends a small force south, we must send troops to stop them. Luzhou and Anqing are home to a large number of civilians, and we absolutely cannot allow the Qing army to harass them."

Zhu Cilang was not so polite to Liu Zeqing.

Firstly, Luzhou Prefecture was already under the protection of Fengyang Prefecture and was very safe; secondly, the terrain to the north of Luzhou Prefecture would certainly force Duoduo's main force to take a detour, and only a small force would come; thirdly, he did not trust Liu Zeqing at all, and if the other party dared to run away, he would kill him!

After Zhu Cilang finished his instructions, he immediately looked down at the civil and military officials in front of him and said:
"From the moment the Qing army decided to march west and then south, they had already missed the opportunity and their defeat was inevitable. Their military might is formidable, their attack is sharp, but they cannot overcome the elements. As long as the temperature rises north of the Yangtze River, Duoduo will surely not dare to maintain a prolonged siege.

Our dynasty has the material and financial support of Jiangnan, and we have the advantage of time, place, and people. When the Qing army is unable to besiege the city and retreats north in disgrace, it will be time for our army to counterattack and win, and drive off the enemy's pursuit."

"Your Majesty is wise, and God will bless our Ming Dynasty!" When the civil and military ministers heard this, they were immediately encouraged and shouted in unison.

After the temporary military meeting at the Suizhou government office, Zhu Cilang immediately summoned Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng. On the one hand, he asked Chang Denggui to give a brief report on the battle outside the city today, and on the other hand, he asked him to summarize the shortcomings of this battle.

The "Battle of Suizhou" was only a small battle, but Xu Dingguo led these rebel soldiers to plunder in Guide for a long time, and a lot of wealth accumulated in the city, and the Palace Army reaped a rich harvest.

More than 30,000 taels of silver were seized from the government storehouse and the bodies of the rebel soldiers, and various jewelry were worth 6,000 to 7,000 taels. There was also a lot of food that was forcibly requisitioned from various villages by the rebel soldiers under Shao Dingguo.

If these silver and grain are fully utilized, it will only take one year to train a thousand-man field army or a governor's battalion from scratch.

But now, the people of Guide Prefecture and Chen Qianfu's troops need these food and silver more, and Zhu Cilang doesn't have to transfer more supplies from Fengyang.

In addition to gold, silver and food, there were more than 300 abducted young women and more than 500 young and middle-aged men doing hard labor in the rebel army camp in Suizhou City.

Zhu Cilang had no intention of letting them go. In such a chaotic world, letting them leave on their own would almost be like sending them to their deaths.

These young and middle-aged men were naturally temporarily handed over to Chen Qianfu and later sent to the Guide Camp. As for the women, Zhu Cilang asked Chang Denggui to send someone back to Fengyang and prepare to send them to the cotton clothing workshop.

After reporting the spoils of this battle, Chang Denggui also reported that a soldier from the Tianwu Left Camp had embezzled 13 taels, 1 qian and 5 fen of dirty silver during the confiscation process. According to military law, this person was executed on the spot by military judge Mao Qing.

Afterwards, Lin Changfeng began to summarize the battle situation of this war. This was a special request from Zhu Cilang in order to train their abilities beyond fighting.

"Your Majesty, for this Suizhou battle, the Tianwu Left Camp dispatched 1,000 cavalrymen, and the Tianqi Camp dispatched a total of one division and three bureaus of cavalrymen. In addition, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Liu Zeqing's three divisions totaled over a thousand cavalrymen to assist in the battle.

In this battle, a total of 1,275 enemies were killed and 346 were captured. Five people from our Tianqi Battalion were killed and 13 were injured. Four people from the Tianwu Left Battalion were killed and 17 were injured. The other three battalions had 15 people killed and 39 were injured.

Among them, nine are seriously injured, all of them in vital areas, and they may not survive until tomorrow night. The others are slightly injured and can recover after a period of rest, but five have broken bones and may become disabled.

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded and then looked around at everyone in the room. Including the chief instructor Zhang Huangyan who was accompanying the expedition, every officer's face was filled with excitement. They seemed very satisfied with the outcome of this battle.

They may not have realized that the Battle of Suizhou was a completely unequal war, which is why it was so exciting. But the upcoming battle with the Qing army heading south will be an equal decisive battle, which will definitely be very tragic.

After a while, after listening to General Chang Denggui's report on the subsequent loss of weapons and the problems exposed by the two divisions of the Palace Army on the battlefield, Zhu Cilang said in a deep voice:

"In this battle, the Tianqi Battalion and the Tianwu Left Battalion performed well. After returning, I will definitely reward them according to their merits. In addition to the rewards from the court, the treasury will also allocate another sum of money as my reward.

However, I also hope that you all remember that the Palace Army is the most elite of our army. Even if we win against a mob, there is nothing to be happy about.

At the same time, you all have to think about it carefully. The rebel forces in Henan and eastern Henan are of this character. Even the three generals, except for the elite servants under their command, most of them are unable to fight in the field. Can they, as the main force, stop the Qing army that is about to march south?
Three months from now, in the decisive battle between Jianghuai and the Tartars, you are the only ones I can ultimately rely on. You are my greatest reliance in repelling the Qing army and reviving the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Cilang's question made Chang Denggui, Lin Changfeng, Zhang Huangyan and other generals, without exception, feel an indescribable emotion in their hearts - the heavy responsibility of defending the Ming Dynasty fell on their shoulders.

"Therefore, in addition to the reports just made by General Chang and Battalion Officer Lin, you must all pay attention to the other issues in this battle and think carefully about how to improve them.

There are also provisions in military law. Those who can identify problems in military training and combat and propose improvements will be rewarded with 30, 60, or 150 taels of silver, respectively, based on their merits. They will also be awarded first-class merit and will be given priority for promotion during the promotion assessment. I hope you all will receive this."

After hearing this, all the generals nodded in agreement. They actually understood that the fighting capacity of this chaotic army was indeed very poor, and that Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing's troops only had those elite retainers who could still fight.

However, the Qing army had tens of thousands of such fully armed "elite servants". The Palace Army was already the best trained and best equipped army among all the armies in Jiangbei. In Fengyang, it had only about 10,000 troops. The Beijing Camp was the same, but its equipment was slightly worse and its training was slightly weaker.

In other words, the upcoming Jianghuai War is destined to be difficult to fight!
"Zhang Huangyan, you start by telling us about the problems these new recruits exposed on the battlefield during this battle!" Zhu Cilang then turned his head and looked at Zhang Huangyan who was standing beside him.

When new recruits go into battle, even when facing an enemy with a huge gap in strength, it is inevitable that many problems will be exposed. After all, this is just an army in the 17th century.

Zhu Cilang did not ignore these problems because of a small victory. Instead, he was extremely alert, focused on them, and was determined to find a solution quickly.

Of course, this is a gesture he made to attract the attention of all parties, but it is more of a concern about the future situation.

You know, to defend Jianghuai, although fighting in the city, it is still necessary to go out of the city to fight in the field.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huangyan immediately stepped out, bowed to Zhu Cilang, and reported the problems he had discovered in this battle one by one while bending his waist.

The first to bear the brunt of the attack were the soldiers of the 1,000th headquarters of the Tianwu Left Camp. When they charged, their formation became quite chaotic. If they faced the powerful Qing army, the consequences would be disastrous.
Secondly, in this battle, many soldiers became frightened and began to panic after hearing the screams on the battlefield, and many soldiers actually did not understand the meaning of the war drums and bugles, and just charged forward.

During normal training, they can still look at their comrades and get away with it, but when they are on the battlefield, there is chaos everywhere, and real swords and guns are used. When blood is about to be shed, who can they look at?

It is an extremely serious problem that soldiers cannot understand the war drums and bugles. The battlefield is too noisy, and it is far from enough to just shout slogans. Without the coordination of flags, war drums, and bugles, the army is very likely to lose command and fall into chaos.

These problems are even more serious for the new recruits of the infantry, and can easily lead to a major rout of the entire army from point to surface.

Zhu Cilang looked at Zhang Huangyan, who was speaking eloquently with his head held high, and nodded with great satisfaction. He was surprised that the other party had discovered so many problems just by being at the forefront of the battlefield.

It can only be said that some things do depend on talent. It is no wonder that in history, Zhang Huangyan was able to quickly grow from a scholar to an important figure in the Lu Jinguo faction, and possessed an excellent strategic vision. He eventually inherited the Lu Jinguo forces led by Zhang Mingzhen.

You know, at that time, Koxinga had long coveted this power.

Although the evolution of history has its fundamental influencing factors, the role played by people is the most critical. Whether small amounts can be accumulated into big ones, and whether one can become strong from weak, is often unreasonable.

　Thanks to the book friend "Yuekenlu Dazhuang" for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)