You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 193 is great, no need to say more!

Qing army camp.

Seeing that his suicide squad was surrounded by the Ming army, Jiang Qingyun was extremely anxious and immediately began a second round of mobilization.

This time it's not mandatory, it's entirely voluntary.

Mobilize according to the flags and call out names one by one.

"Are there any fearless men in the Plain White Banner? Step forward."

Hula~
More than a hundred bannermen stepped forward from the formation to volunteer to rescue friendly troops. What does this show? It shows that they had some faith and were invaluable Eight Banner warriors.

Shuo Dai gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and said, "This humble general is also willing to fight."

"Good, Commander Shuodai is indeed a brave warrior from the Upper Three Banners, his loyalty is commendable. Come on, take over the flag."

Shuo Dai reached out and took the camp flag.
This is a square flag, white with red characters outlined in black, and the flag bears eighteen large characters: "Plain White Flag, Determined to Charge into Battle".

"What about the Bordered White Flag? Are there any who aren't afraid to die?"

A few hundred people stood up sparsely.

"What about the Bordered Blue Banner?"

Dozens more people stepped forward.

That's how they managed to gather seven or eight hundred people.

……

Jiang Qingyun didn't want to give these people any time to think (or regret), and turned his head to say, "Let's begin."

The large banner waved rapidly.

The sound of drums was earth-shattering.

"Go ahead."

"Red Banner Charge and Die Together Camp", "Red Banner Charge and Charge Without Survival Camp", "White Banner Charge and Die Camp", "White Banner Charge and Charge to the Death Camp", "Blue Banner Charge and Seek Death Camp", "Yellow Banner Fearless Camp", "Yellow Banner Die in the Right Place Camp".

Each camp flag was more impressive than the last.

The soldiers silently tied a white cloth strip inscribed with "Serve the country with seven lives" to their foreheads before going into battle. And it must be said, after tying it on, their demeanor was indeed different.

Mastering Showa-era art can truly lead to success.

……

The famous political scientist Machiavelli once said:
Once the war begins, the loyal will die first, followed by the brave, and finally the cunning. The hypocrites and the true villains will all escape.

At that moment, at this moment.

The most loyal Eight Banners officers' suicide squad is trapped deep in enemy territory, and the brave warriors who volunteered are also about to be trapped in enemy territory.

These people are a non-renewable resource! These are elite military resources that no empire could replicate within ten years.

One of the princes couldn't hold back any longer: "General, stop adding fuel to the fire! Let's send the whole army!"

"The time is not yet ripe, gentlemen, please be patient. I will lead you to a great victory."

After he finished speaking, Jiang Qingyun noticed that the gazes of the people around him were complex, containing resentment, disgust, incomprehension, and even pleading.

It doesn't matter!
You can't do anything to me!
Unless you dare to rebel!

……

"General Jiang Zhongcheng of Tongzhou Garrison, step forward!"

Jiang Zhongcheng was so scared he almost wet himself, and he walked out trembling.

"The end will be here."

"You lead 2000 Green Standard Army matchlock musketeers, 1000 spearmen, and 1000 archers to the right front 500 paces and form a battle formation in place."

"As ordered."

"Zheng Siwei, Deputy Commander of the Right Battalion of Tongzhou Town".

"The end will be here."

"You will lead 1000 cavalry to harass from the right flank. If the Ming army attacks, you will rendezvous with the General."

"As ordered."

"Guerrilla General Hu Guozhu".

"The end will be here."

"You lead your cavalry, and I will reinforce you with 500 Bordered Yellow Banner cavalry to flank the Ming army's supply lines and conduct guerrilla warfare."

"As ordered."

If nothing unexpected happens, the Guan Ning cavalry will definitely roam around rather than engage in direct combat; they won't be determined to relentlessly attack Li Dingguo.

Jiang Qingyun seemed to have a plan in mind, and kept issuing orders.

In reality, all his military knowledge combined doesn't exceed the content of a single book, "The Great Qing Dynasty's Chief Secretary," making him a complete military layman.

Although he was an amateur and it was his first time on the battlefield, he dared to personally command a large army in battle, and he fought with great success.

It has to be said, this is a kind of confidence.
……

Such idiotic command, such fierce elite soldiers, such outrageous tactics—a strange thought suddenly occurred to Li Dingguo: Did the Qing court really have no one else to rely on?
suddenly~
A blue-armored cavalryman belonging to the Jianzhou Left Guard of the Ming Dynasty hurriedly arrived.

"Your Highness, the Duke has instructed me to inform you that the imperial carriage must proceed immediately."

"Turn around? Where to?" The blue-armored soldier remained silent, embarrassed.

Li Dingguo's expression changed drastically. Damn it, what do you mean by "advance"? They're clearly trying to escape.

"When did this happen?"

"They've already left. We couldn't stop them. The Duke did his best."

"I see."

Li Dingguo silently watched the bloody battle ahead, and seeing the Guan Ning cavalry clearly trying to outflank them, he couldn't help but feel saddened.

"If I had provisions and reinforcements, I would have chopped off this man's head in 10 days, at most 10 days. What a pity, what a pity..."

His eyes were slightly red, and he drew his sword with trembling hands.

"Order the Western Army to hold the rear, while the other units take turns providing cover and slowly withdraw from the battlefield."

……

Qing army camp.

Someone exclaimed, "General, the Ming army has retreated!"

Jiang Qingyun's eye twitched, and he cursed inwardly at Li Dingguo for not persisting in the fight.

"Announce to the entire army that our army has achieved a great victory. The Ming army will retreat a thousand miles after this defeat. Pass on my order to sound the retreat."

Afternoon~
The battlefield returned to silence.

The Qing army suffered more than 1800 casualties, which may seem small, but the dead included 1200 Eight Banner officers and 600 loyal Banner soldiers who volunteered to fight, a situation similar to that of the Katyn Forest.

The Ming army suffered more than 5000 casualties, and Li Dingguo abandoned Yuezhou City and marched south.

……

2 days later.

Jiang Qingyun led his troops to Yuezhou.

On a makeshift platform erected in the city's training ground, he delivered a brief but enthusiastic speech, his face glowing with health.

The audience numbered over 10,000.
He emphasized:
"The Battle of Songzi was an extremely crucial battle, a turning point in the Southwest War, and a key battle that laid the foundation for the world's格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall situation or pattern of the world). From then on, the Ming army went downhill, while our army went uphill."

"In order to commend the meritorious soldiers, I have decided to set aside the rules of the Ministry of War and double the reward money. Promotions should also be more lenient and preferential. Those who can be promoted will definitely be promoted, and those who cannot be promoted will be promoted by all means."

do as promised.

After slapping someone, you have to give them a treat. Besides, official titles and money belong to the imperial court; you can use the court's money to do your own thing.

Yesterday's battle resulted in a minimum reward of 100 taels of silver for anyone who left the camp, with one lucky individual even being promoted four ranks and receiving a reward of 5500 taels of silver.

Generosity needs no further explanation.

Great, needless to say.

……

Yuezhou Prefectural Government Office.

Having just taken his medicine, Jiang Qingyun sat alone in the room, quietly drafting a memorial to the throne. He deliberately wrote in a messy hand, with even a few drops of ink from the pen tip.

"...Your subject Jiang Qingyun reports with tears streaming down his face: After a brutal battle lasting half a month, I have finally defeated the bandit leader Li Dingguo, beheading ten thousand and capturing the important town of Yuezhou. The casualties among my Manchu bannermen are..."

After thinking for a moment, I picked up my pen and wrote down—thirty-one.

It has both whole numbers and fractions, which is more scientific.

After finishing the memorial, he continued writing a petition for merit to be submitted to the Ministry of War. The petition was written in dense, small characters, and the list of names, when unfolded, was a full two zhang long.

……

"Someone is coming."

"What are your orders, General?"

"A 600-mile express dispatch reports a victory! Also, call a meeting!"

Half an hour later, the room was packed with princes, vice commanders, and generals.

Jiang Qingyun was beaming with joy:
"I have some good news to share with you all. First, Lord Ao Bai's condition has improved. Second, our vanguard cavalry captured Changde without bloodshed. Third, the report of victory has been sent to the capital by express courier."

Everyone was silent.

Since the embarrassing Battle of Songzi, the morale of the entire army has been somewhat ambiguous, seemingly low, but not entirely so.

In short, morale is very low.

"General, shall we pursue and kill Li Dingguo?"

"No, no, I judge that Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo are about to clash. As the saying goes, 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' We should be the clever oriole. We can sit by the river and watch the enemy's corpses float downstream. Wouldn't that be delightful?"

"General, what if we miss our chance?"

“I take full responsibility. You only need to be responsible to me, and I am responsible to the Emperor. Let me emphasize again, the Manchu bannermen are few in number, and every life is precious. How can we let them make such a fearless sacrifice?”

"Gentlemen, am I right?"

Looking at the impassioned Jiang Qingyun, everyone felt a tightness in their chests.

"The General is right."

"Alright~ Proclaim to the entire army that we shall continue to rest and reorganize. When shall we set off? Await my orders."

(End of this chapter)