Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Based on the text message sent back by Yan Huidong, Li Chengming reconstructed the Qing army's troop deployment map.

Looking at the Qing army's troop deployment map, Li Chengming gathered the other assault team members to discuss countermeasures.

After discussing for a long time, the group changed their strategic objective from eliminating the Qing army's manpower to seizing the grain and fodder stored by the Qing army in Huizhou City.

After everything was ready, Li Chengming summoned Huang Daozhou to discuss and confirm the troop deployment plan.

Huang Daozhou, in his capacity as Minister of War of the Southern Ming Dynasty, recruited 2,000 soldiers in Xinzhou Prefecture to go north and support the resistance against the Qing Dynasty.

The two regiments that were preparing to set out could no longer use the name of the Restoration Army. From this moment until the capture of Hangzhou, these two regiments could only be called the Ming Army!

Nominally, Huang Daozhou was the commander of this army, but Li Chengming made a gentleman's agreement with Huang Daozhou: I have discussed the military deployment plan and strategic objectives with you. You only need to be nominally in charge. You cannot interfere with the command of the army. If you insist on interfering, then the Restoration Army will abandon the name of the Ming Army and return to the banner of the Restoration Army!

The two regiments that set out on the expedition carried Ming army flags with yellow backgrounds and red borders. One side of the flag had the character "Ming" on it, and the other side had the character "Huang" on it, representing the Ming army commanded by Huang Daozhou!

Once the troop deployment plan was finalized, Chen Shaoping led two regiments of the Restoration Army, along with two auxiliary regiments, from Xinzhou.

The auxiliary troops pushed hundreds of two-wheeled iron-framed carts, carrying large quantities of guns, ammunition, and gunpowder. The procession stretched for several kilometers!

The Restoration Army only brought ten days' worth of food, planning to spend two days reaching Wuyuan and then another two days reaching the outskirts of Huizhou.

This is a huge gamble. In other words, if the Restoration Army cannot seize the grain supplies in Huizhou, then this military expedition will have to be aborted and they will have to return home!

Two days later, the Restoration Army set off from Wuyuan and headed towards Huizhou Prefecture.

After leaving Wuyuan, the Xingfu Army did not hide their whereabouts. With so many people marching in the daytime, it would be difficult to conceal their movements.

Soon, an urgent battle report arrived in Huizhou Prefecture. Upon learning of the Xingfu Army's deployment, Zhang Tianlu's face darkened. He said grimly, "These Xingfu Army truly don't know what's good for them. I was going to let them off the hook, but I didn't expect them to dare to send troops on their own!"

Zhang Tianlu's younger brother, Zhang Tianfu, took the battle report and studied it for a long time before saying, "Brother, but this battle report says that this army is flying the Ming army's banner, and the commander is Huang Daozhou, the Minister of War during the Longwu reign?"

Zhang Tianlu glanced at his younger brother and said, "Hmph, what Ming army came from Xinzhou? Besides the Restoration Army, who else came from Xinzhou?"

Zhang Tianfu asked doubtfully, "Brother, do you think this Restoration Army might have already sided with the Longwu Dynasty in Fujian?"

Zhang Tianlu nodded and said, "Very likely, but I've also heard that the Restoration Army implemented some kind of new policy in Xinzhou Prefecture, which has angered both heaven and man. Scholars are cursing the Restoration Army. Moreover, the Restoration Army has defeated the Ming army in Fujian several times, they..."

Zhang Tianlu paused here, then said, "Of course, if Fujian can offer substantial benefits, it's not impossible for the Restoration Army to side with Fujian."

Zhang Tianfu nodded in agreement and asked, "Then how does brother plan to deal with this?"

Zhang Tianlu sneered and said, "Only three thousand soldiers, half of whom are auxiliary troops transporting supplies. Do they really think I, Zhang, am incompetent? We'll meet force with force, and we'll wait here for them to attack. Let's see how capable they really are!"

Zhang Tianlu's scouts only discovered one main regiment and two auxiliary regiments of the Restoration Army; one regiment remained undiscovered.

Although the troop deployment could not be completely concealed, the Restoration Army did not intend to expose all its forces.

One main regiment and two auxiliary regiments swaggered along the official road, while the other main regiment chose to take a back road and march at night!

The purpose was for that secret regiment to bypass the Qing army's defenses and launch a surprise attack on the city from the north.

The Restoration Army split into two branches: one took the main road and the other took the side road; one marched during the day and the other at night.

The two main regiments of the Restoration Army marched in turns. Two days later, the Restoration Army, which took the main road, crossed a tributary of the Xin'an River and arrived at the southeast of Huizhou City.

When the Restoration Army crossed the river, Zhang Tianlu sent two thousand Qing soldiers to try to stop them. The Qing soldiers were hit by alternating fire from the Restoration Army's muskets and cannons, and hundreds of Qing soldiers were killed or wounded before they were forced to retreat.

Seeing that the two thousand Qing troops they had sent out were easily defeated by the Restoration Army, the brothers Zhang Tianlu and Zhang Tianfu looked grim.

The Zhang brothers had also heard of the Xingfu Army's victories against overwhelming odds, including the battles against the Zheng army and the Jin army.

However, they didn't quite believe in the claim that the Restoration Army could win with fewer troops, thinking it was just an exaggerated rumor. They argued that apart from the Manchu Eight Banners, how could the Restoration Army, which originated from bandits, be so powerful?

When Zhang Tianlu and his brother were still in the Ming army, they had dealt with bandits quite a bit and knew that although the bandits seemed to have a lot of people, their strength was much weaker than imagined. Even if they were all soldiers, they wouldn't be that strong.

Therefore, Zhang Tianlu believed that no matter how strong the Restoration Army was, it was at most only as strong as the old soldiers of the bandits, and its strength was limited!

Seeing the terrifying firearms and cannons of the Restoration Army, Zhang Tianfu said in a trembling voice, "They actually possess such formidable firearms! This...this Restoration Army is so powerful, what are we to do!"

Zhang Tianlu cursed under his breath, "Useless! No matter how powerful Xingfu is, they only have a little over a thousand soldiers. We have nearly seven thousand warriors. What are we afraid of?"

Zhang Tianfu thought for a moment and realized that even if the Restoration Army was strong, it only had a little over a thousand combat soldiers. As for the auxiliary soldiers, they didn't even dare to cross the river. How much strength could they have?

The Qing army has nearly 7,000 troops. Even if they slowly wear down the Xingfu Army, they will eventually exhaust it!

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Tianlu ordered, "Sound the retreat and return to the city!"

Although he was unwilling, Zhang Tianlu remained calm. He thought that the temporary setback was nothing. The biggest reason for the failure to stop the Xingfu Army from crossing the river was that he underestimated the enemy and acted rashly, failing to know himself and his enemy.

After returning to the city to reorganize, we will fight again tomorrow with several times the strength of our troops. We will surely be able to completely defeat this arrogant and conceited restoration army.

Although the Qing army in Huizhou numbered nearly 7,000, half of them were deployed on the outer defense line and not recalled.

The two thousand Qing troops that were just defeated were the troops deployed in the southeast to guard the Xin'an River defense line.

Seeing how powerful the Xingfu Army was, Zhang Tianlu gathered half of his troops and went into the city to rest and reorganize.

The other half of the army was deployed too far from Huizhou City and could not be recalled in a short time. Moreover, relying on Huizhou City, Zhang Tianlu did not believe that more than 3,000 troops could not defend the city.

Even if the Restoration Army was strong, it only had a little over a thousand men. If they dared to attack the city, the Qing army outside the city could also take the opportunity to attack the rear of the Restoration Army. With an attack from both sides, even the strongest Restoration Army would have to retreat.

Zhang Tianlu commanded nearly seven thousand troops. To say that seven thousand men were defeated by a mere one thousand Xingfu Army soldiers was something he couldn't even imagine, even in his nightmares.

Leave more than 3,000 troops outside the city to deal with the Restoration Army, look for opportunities to fight, and then defeat the Restoration Army!