Ai Xing'a, Shu Mu's family, was from the Zhenghuang Banner of Manchuria, a first-class duke, and a minister of bodyguards. In September of the seventeenth year of Shunzhi, Shunzhi sent scholars Malji and Shi Tu to Yunnan to inspect the war and verify Wu Sangui's report.
After the two men returned their reports, Shunzhi discussed with the political king Beile and the ministers, and decided to confer the title of "General Dingxi" to the internal minister Ai Xing'a, who would lead the Eight Banners to conquer Yunnan and "conquer" with Wu Sangui.
At that time, Shunzhi still trusted Wu Sangui, and instructed his beloved star A to "do everything according to the meeting" after arriving in Yunnan. If he was with Sangui, "all affairs would be done with the king's seal. If he was not with the king, everything would be done with the king's seal."
That is to say, it is printed by you."
It’s just that the situation changed too fast. Just as Aixing A and the Forbidden Eight Banners were ready to set off, Shunzhi died. The emperor passed away, and the courtesy of a minister cannot be abolished, so Aixing A Ben could only wait until the funeral was completed.
Set off. However, the war situation in Yunnan Province took a turn for the worse. Wu Sangui led his army to first withdraw from Kunming, then Qujing, and then directly retreated into Guizhou Province. The entire Yunnan Province was occupied by the Ming army.
Of course, Wu Sangui had already made up his words, admitted his mistakes in the memorial, and asked for punishment, but the main responsibility was passed on to the dead man Zhang Yong. Moreover, Wu Sangui was extremely sad in the memorial, saying that he had rushed to the capital and wanted to cry and pay homage.
Shunzhi.
But before the Qing court could make a decision, Wu Sangui issued another memorial in just a few days, saying that the Shuixi rebellion had spread wildly and would be extremely difficult to control if it was delayed for a long time. For the safety of Guizhou Province and to resist the Ming army of Yunnan Province,
He could only "personally lead the army to suppress the enemy early, so as to clear away the troubles in Yunnan Province and prevent the puppet Ming Dynasty from attacking from inside and outside." As soon as the memorial arrived, Wu Yingxiong of the capital began to act, bribing the four auxiliary ministers heavily for the purpose.
His father said Xiang.
When the matter reached this point, even if Wu Sangui knew that most of what he said was lies, his loyalty to the Qing court had been greatly reduced. The four auxiliary ministers also believed that no coercion should be done at this time, and comfort should be the priority. Although Wu Sangui was not working hard, or with
The Pseudo-Ming had some collusion, but in the end they had not truly rebelled. Because of this, the Ming army was unable to advance forward, and could only stay in a corner.
From loyalty to wavering. Wu Sangui's change made the Qing court angry, but after all, it was still something that could be fought for and exploited. The Qing court was not stupid enough to force Wu Sangui to side with the Ming army. To appease is to appease, but to be on guard is indispensable. Therefore.
, Under this uncertain situation, the originally scheduled march of the Aixing Ahe Forbidden Brigade to the Eight Banners southward was postponed, and the Qing government had to renegotiate and reselect the best direction and location for deploying troops.
At the same time, the Qing court with the four ministers as the core of its governance still needed to constantly adjust its ruling policies, win over people's hearts, and stabilize order. Years of wars had overwhelmed the Qing court's finances; the re-emergence of the Southern Ming forces made the Qing court realize that
In order to control the Han people who constitute the majority of the population, it is also very important to appropriately relax policies and win the hearts and minds of the Nanming people.
As a result, two viewpoints emerged in the Qing court, two factions of characters. One faction believed that in the economy, light corvee and small taxes should be implemented, and the name of the field should be changed (i.e., the Ming Dynasty vassal king Zhuang Tian was given to tenants for farming by the Qing court for free) to develop production; in politics
Above all, pay attention to rectifying the administration of officials, attack the Han landlords and gentry class in the south of the Yangtze River in a step-by-step manner, and slow down the process of attacking the Southern Ming forces to recuperate the national and people's strength.
The other group believes that relaxing economic policies will lead to a lack of armaments, and slowing down the process of attacking the Nanming forces is tantamount to raising tigers. At present, they should increase taxes and accumulate superior forces that can carry out military operations with overwhelming force, and solve the southwest in one fell swoop.
Only after the Southern Ming forces were eliminated and the armed resistance movement against the Qing Dynasty on the mainland openly taking the restoration of the Ming Dynasty as its banner, could we rest our national strength and be kind to the people.
……………
The Crying Temple Case? Zhu Yongxing pondered for a long time, sighed helplessly, and put the information aside. The intelligence bureau's tentacles extended wider and wider, and all relevant and irrelevant things from all over the country were reported. Regardless of whether they were important or not. Zhu Yongxing
They all asked the Intelligence Bureau to compile and compile it and submit it for him to review. There were some things that others might not see, but Zhu Yongxing still hoped to use his own ability to dig out the value from them.
For example, the Intelligence Bureau did not pay attention to this matter about the Crying Temple in Wuxian County, Suzhou. Zhu Yongxing vaguely knew something about it, but felt powerless.
To be honest, Zhu Yongxing did not have a good impression of the Han landlords and gentry. Those who sacrificed their families for the country have been killed by the Qing army. How many of them are still alive? Every time more dogs are slaughtered in a righteous way, the richer they become.
Reactionary, well, this is a bit extreme, but it is not unreasonable.
Because they had families and businesses, the landlords and gentry were more concerned about their own wealth and were more likely to change their orientation than ordinary people. Hong Chengchou's propaganda and appeasement were quite effective at that time, and a large number of gentry who originally favored the Ming court now became neutral.
, made a gesture of hiding from the world: neither supporting the Tatars nor the anti-Qing armed forces. And their nephews began to participate in the imperial examinations of the Qing court, working hard for "learning and excellence will lead to officialdom", as for the Manchu court
, or from the Ming Dynasty, it doesn’t seem to matter.
Although the impression is not good, Zhu Yongxing will still help if he can. After all, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are not as willing to obey the rule of the Manchu Dynasty as the northern gentry. It is easy to compete for the gentry class. Zhang Weihan planned for Zhu Yongxing's rise to power.
.
But now it is just beyond the reach. The southwest Ming army has just spread its two wings, Guangxi and Sichuan, which has involved the Ming army's energy; the South China Sea Fleet is preparing to attack the Guangdong Qing navy, thereby threatening the land through the sea, containing the Guangdong Qing army, and cooperating with the Guangxi theater operations
; Intelligence from the capital is also constantly coming in. Zhu Yongxing and others are paying close attention to the actions of the Qing court. There may be an unplanned war. It is also necessary to maintain a certain degree of maneuverability...
Of course, the Qing government's large-scale deployment of troops in the southwest is estimated to have to wait until September or October, because Wu Sangui said in his memorial that "when the frost and miasma disappear, and then a large-scale invasion of Yunnan, victory can be expected."
Well, there are still five or six months of preparation time, and Wu Sangui also needs time to eliminate dissidents and consolidate his power in Guizhou. On this point, the two families coincide.
Zhu Yongxing sneered, put away the summary of the intelligence he had read, and folded it. After thinking for a while, he picked up his pen and wrote a letter to the headquarters of the Guangxi theater.
In the Battle of Simingzhou, the flintlock rifle and bayonet exerted great power, but this also caused some different opinions on the organization of the army among the frontline army officers.
Among them, the main thing is the retention and elimination of spearmen. In the view of frontline officers, using artillery vehicles as cover, coupled with the increase in the rate of fire and range of flintlocks, the spearmen are of little use. If all
The military capital is equipped with flintlocks and bayonets, which not only improves combat effectiveness. Even without artillery carriages, bayonets and intensive fire can still withstand cavalry charges.
Zhu Yongxing was not entirely sure about this. After all, the Qing army did not use cavalry to charge in this battle, and it was just a small victory. The conclusions drawn by the frontline officers were somewhat hasty and eager for success.
Although Zhu Yongxing spared no effort to strengthen the weapons and equipment of the Ming army, he also knew that for now, the theory of weapons victory is unreliable. Training, organization, discipline, morale, etc. are still crucial factors.
"...It is still too early to judge the value of spearmen under the current situation. Rather than instilling uncertain theories into soldiers, it is more natural to explain to them clearly. They should be told that brave men
The cavalry can break through the phalanx, and the brave infantry can repel the cavalry charge."
After a pause, Zhu Yongxing continued to write: "Because victory does not depend on one arm being superior to others, but depends on thousands of different situations. Tell them about the bravery of the troops, the wit of the commander, and the timely response.
Maneuvering, the effects of gunfire, rain, and even mud, all these factors can lead to victory as well as defeat; but generally speaking, a brave man, whether he is an infantryman or a cavalryman, can always defeat a coward.
of."
Modern cavalry and bayonet battalion phalanxes rely on clusters formed by neat and dense formations to maintain the unity of the group during offense/defense. Therefore, in a collision, it is often directly reflected in the formation of both sides that collapses first. And the collapse
The reasons may include various factors such as discipline, morale, environment, command, etc.
Therefore, when Zhu Yongxing was not sure about eliminating the spearmen, he reminded the officers from another aspect that it was necessary to nip the superstition of weapons and equipment in the bud.
After writing the letter, Zhu Yongxing called the secretary and asked him to copy some of the contents of the letter and send it to the Lecture Hall. This would not only inspire the officers who were studying, but also allow them to use their brains to carefully study and discuss the military affairs.
The issue of troop deployment.
Counting the time, the latest news from the Guangxi war zone is coming soon, and it is probably about the Nanning war. Zhu Yongxing expected it to be good news, because he believed in the Ming army's ability to attack fortresses, and the Ming army had a huge military advantage. Of course, if Nanning was attacked
If an unexpected situation occurs and the time is delayed, Guangdong will be happy to send reinforcements quickly, and the variables will be huge.
However, Zhu Yongxing really felt helpless with the communication speed of this era. The South China Sea Fleet should have launched a response operation as scheduled, attacking Fangcheng Port and planning to attack Lianzhou (today's Beihai), but no specific news was transmitted.
………………
The weather is sunny, and the blue sky is dotted with sparse clouds. If you have a leisurely time, it is also very interesting to lie under the shade of a tree and identify the shapes of clouds.
But at this time, Guangxi Admiral Ma Xiong had no intention of admiring it. Although he was under the shade of a tree, the wounds on his body were sore from sweat, and there were moans of wounded soldiers around him, which made him even more upset.
The field battle was a defeat. Firstly, he did not try his best, and secondly, the losses were not severe enough. But the idea of holding on to Nanning and waiting for reinforcements also came to nothing, and the speed of time made him still have lingering fears when he thinks about it.
.
As an old army member, Ma Xiong believed that there were no omissions in the layout of the city defense. Seven thousand versus 20,000, if they relied on a strong city to defend, the comparison in numbers would not be too disparate. The Ming army also saw this and took the following measures
Of course, Ma Xiong was not fooled by the tactic of surrounding three buildings. He wanted to defeat the enemy at the foot of Nanning City, so that the enemy would be exhausted for a long time, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack, or cooperate with the inside and outside after the arrival of reinforcements.
But the optimistic thoughts came to naught on the third day. The Ming army’s artillery did not blast open the city, but the city walls on the north and south suddenly collapsed in large areas. As the Ming army swarmed into the city, Ma Xiong knew that the situation was over, and decisively led the three
Thousands of cavalrymen left the city and broke out to the east. It was his decision that prevented all the Qing troops from perishing with the city. Although they were blocked and intercepted by the Ming army during the breakout process, more than two thousand cavalrymen still managed to escape.
At this time, most of the troops were lost and their vitality was severely damaged. Ma Xiong led the remaining soldiers and ran straight to Guixian County (now Guigang City), where they were able to escape the disaster and take a short rest.
"Sir Admiral——" The staff member who managed to escape was dressed in tatters and his hair was disheveled. He no longer looked elegant. After he had finished breathing, he came over to ask where we were going, "Where should we go next?"
Ma Xiong frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a low voice: "I should have gone back north to Liuzhou, but I don't know what the situation is there now. Besides, the war has failed, and I don't want to meet that bastard Sun Yanling and recruit him for nothing.
A shame."
Ma Xiong and Sun Yanling had a deep grudge, and they were ashamed of being under Sun Yanling, so the staff naturally knew it. But now there are only two choices, either continue to the east and join the Qing army in Guangdong; or go north and return to the base camp of Liuzhou to rest and rest. The remaining troops are defeated.
He didn't dare to fight with the Ming army again, and he was in urgent need of a place to eat.
"Sir, Shangfan of Guangdong is not a good person. If he goes to seek refuge, these soldiers may be swallowed up by him." The staff thought and analyzed: "Even if they are not annexed, we must use our army as the vanguard when they counterattack the Ming army.
I won’t hesitate to use it.”
Ma Xiong nodded slightly, frowning even more tightly. Without the remaining capital, let alone competing with Sun Yanling, even an official position would not be easy to maintain.
"It's not like -" the staff lowered his voice and said viciously: "While sending people to inquire about the news, we secretly headed north. It would be good to go back to Liuzhou. If Sun Yanling is already in Liuzhou, our army will take a detour.
Guilin, give him a blow to the bottom of the cauldron."
Ma Xiong was surprised. He didn't expect his staff to come up with such a vicious plan. But after thinking about it carefully, it was still an option. Since Sun Yanling was unjust and withdrew his troops north to seek Liuzhou, he should retaliate in kind and seize the opportunity to seize Guilin, its foundation.
There is nothing unjustifiable.
Moreover, after occupying Guilin, they not only avenged one stone, but also cut off Sun Yanling's retreat, so that Sun Yanling could no longer cheat and cheat, and could only fight the Ming army desperately.
Thinking like this, Ma Xiong's expression slowly changed from surprise to slyness and pride. Finally, he slapped his thigh and said in a hateful voice: "I will follow your advice. He is unjust, so don't blame me for being ruthless."
The staff was happy to receive the praise, but they still pretended to be reserved and reminded Ma Xiong: "Sir, this matter is not trivial. Don't let the news leak out and make Sun Yanling on guard. Why don't you explain it to the general first?
Our army is heading north to Liuzhou. It is safest to wait until the news is confirmed and launched before making it known to the public."
"Exactly, exactly." Ma Xiong nodded repeatedly, with a long-lost smile on his face, as if he was getting over the failure.