Shen Jizhao led thousands of his men to make a show. They did not make any flanking detours at all, but fled along the river. () But he did not expect that the Henan Green Camp was defeated so quickly. Wouldn't the Ming army soon catch up again?
The more he ran, the more frightened he became. Even the sound of horse hooves beside him sounded like an approaching pursuit, which made him look around in panic.
"Sir -" his subordinate greeted, which startled Shen Ji Zhao, "Look at the boats on the river, they are sending us flags!"
Shen Jizhao quickly turned around to look, and at this moment a loud arrow was shot from the ship and stuck on the shore. On the arrow was an order for him.
"Lerjin wants us to turn back and face the enemy, otherwise -" Shen Jizhao's face turned pale at first, and then he gritted his teeth with hatred, "Damn the Tatars, just stealing money and running away, what do you think of us? Are you going to die?"
"What should we do?" The subordinate said with a sad face: "If you don't obey orders, you will die in Wuchang!"
Shen Jizhao slowly exhaled a long breath, his face became gloomy, and word after word burst out from his mouth, "Then we won't leave! Simply join the Ming army, which is a way to survive. What do you think?"
Facing Shen Jizhao's cold gaze, his subordinates couldn't help but shudder, blinked their eyes, stamped their feet, and said: "What do you say, sir? How do you do the humble job? If we work early, we might be able to get an official position. This way
It looks like the Tatars are exhausted, we won’t sacrifice our lives for them anymore.”
"It's not enough anyway." Shen Jizhao smiled, with a sinister look on his face, pointed at the river, and said: "We have to perform meritorious deeds! Whether it's killing Tatars or intercepting ships, just submitting a petition is enough.
Got it."
"Your Majesty is right." The eyes of the subordinates shone with light, "There is a lot of property on that ship. Cutting off one or two and presenting them to the Ming army must be considered a great achievement. We will also be rewarded, right?"
"
"Then go and make arrangements." Shen Jizhao patted his subordinates heavily on the shoulder and said: "Tell the brothers, you can't run away. The Ming army has defeated the Henan guys and will catch up soon. Take advantage of the opportunity.
With this free time, let's do some meritorious service first. Well, I guarantee they will survive. From now on, those who want to be soldiers will continue to work, and those who don't want to fight can go home and farm."
……………
The Henan Green Camp was defeated so quickly, which really surprised Leerjin and others. As for the combat-effective troops, there were also the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia, as well as some Henan Qing soldiers who had already boarded the ship. But if they want to mobilize these troops to land
It is absolutely impossible to fight.
First of all, even if it is basically safe once you are on board the ship, who would step into the dangerous situation to fight to the death with the enemy? Secondly, re-embarking, pulling horses, assembling, and setting up formations are not tasks that can be completed in a short time, right?
It is not like sending oneself to death, Leerjin and others also know this in their hearts. Not being able to go up, not being able to go down, is this dilemma.
Therefore, seeing the defeat of the Henan Green Camp and the Huguang Green Camp on the dock, they dispersed in a hurry, discarding a lot of materials that had not been transported. The ships on the river evacuated in panic and left the shore. Leerjin and others had no choice but to do so.
Although thousands of soldiers and horses were lost, fortunately most of the Manchu and Mongolian soldiers were still there, and there were defeated troops fleeing eastward on the shore. After breaking away from the pursuit of the Ming army, they should be able to gather a lot of them. When they saw the flank of the Ming army that was supposed to be outflanking
When the attacking Green Battalion was rushing along the river, Leerjin couldn't help but feel angry. He fired a stern order to the shore. Unexpectedly, it was his threats that forced the Green Battalion to surrender anyway and switch sides.
The Mongolian leader Hartu barely stood holding the mast. He was not used to water and did not even dare to look at the flowing river water. The cabin contained looted property. Although he was defeated, these properties still comforted him. He was poor.
Ah, the reason for going to war is not to make money. If you can't help it, don't fight it. The world of Manchu and Qing Dynasty does not belong to the Mongols.
From the corner of his eye, Hartu saw many Qing soldiers standing at the bend of the river in front of him, but he didn't pay much attention to it. When there was chaos at the dock just now, many Qing soldiers were rushing to board the boat to escape, but many of them were pushed into the water.
Many people were chopping up the boats and cutting them down with swords, but no one could stop the boats from leaving the shore to avoid danger.
As the ship continued to move forward, Hartu turned to look at the Qing soldiers on the shore. He liked to see their desperate or pleading eyes, because it showed his superior status and status. These green flag soldiers were not only Manchus
A slave, he usually shouts and drinks.
But - this time Hartu was a little surprised. What he saw were eyes that made him confused for a moment. Before he could figure it out, a rapid rain of arrows suddenly shot from behind these Qing soldiers.
Screams continued, and the sailors and helmsmen on the ship fell one after another in the rain of arrows. Hartu was also caught off guard. He was hit by two arrows on his body and one on his face. The ship suddenly lost control and turned slowly without turning.
After crossing this bend in the river, I rushed onto the river bank.
Hartu's body slowly fell limp, the ship was turning, the sky was turning, and his consciousness gradually blurred. With boiled meat, mushroom soup, and delicious rhubarb pancakes, he seemed to have returned to his hometown on the grassland, with the sound of music in his ears.
The long tune of the shepherdess... He swallowed, but it was filled with a salty taste, and his eyesight went dark.
"Tug the boat to the shore. You guys, continue to shoot for me, shoot these dog Tatars to death, and see if they dare to treat us as human beings." Shen Ji Zhao was jumping on the shore and howling in command, "Damn x
, this time I will let you know how powerful I am."
Now that he had taken action, Shen Ji Zhao simply ordered his soldiers to line up in an array, with shields in front for cover, and bows and arrows firing from behind, and they would attack the ships as they came.
At this time, the ships behind were in trouble. Some lost control and ran aground on the shore; some were spinning in the river, blocking the passage of the ships behind; some were hurriedly sailing to the north bank. The originally orderly navigation suddenly became chaotic, and the ships
Colliding and dodging, the clear soldiers on the ship staggered here and there, trying to fight back with their bows, shouting and screaming, and it became a chaos for a while.
The sound of horse hoofbeats on the shore was rapid, and Dang Shousu led several hundred Ming troops to catch up again. In front of them were subordinates sent by Shen Jizhao, who had already established good contact with the Ming troops.
"Work hard and you will be rewarded for your meritorious service." Dang Shousu only slowed down slightly, shouted to Shen Ji Zhao and others, and then led the people forward.
"Who is that? Do you keep your word?" Shen Jizhao asked his subordinates doubtfully.
"This is Marquis Xingping." The subordinate whispered: "The official is not a small one!"
"It turns out it's a marquis." Shen Jizhao perked up and loudly encouraged his men, "Brothers, beat me, hit me hard. The marquis said there will be a big reward!"
Anyway, the Huguang Green Flag is working harder and harder. Some people even risked being shot by arrows, ran to the shore and beheaded the Qing soldiers who had fallen into the water and climbed ashore, and then ran back with the bloody heads, which aroused a lot of anger.
People cheered and applauded.
"Huh? Marquis Xingping -" Shen Jizhao suddenly felt familiar, scratched his head and thought for a while, and finally raised his head and looked at his subordinates. He said in amazement: "Is there a Marquis Xingping among the remnants of Kuidong's thieves? Okay.
Do you want to ask the party to keep things simple?"
The subordinate blinked his eyes and seemed to have remembered it. He was stunned for a moment and hurriedly whispered: "Sir, please be careful. Don't say the word "robber" again in the future."
Yeah, yeah! Shen Jizhao nodded repeatedly and added: "It's the Huang Ming army, and they are all Wang divisions, Wang divisions!"
……………
Large groups of prisoners were continuously escorted outside the city. Although the time was delayed due to caution, the results of the battle were still impressive. The Qing navy carried men, horses, and property, and the number of soldiers it carried was no more than ten thousand. Most of the Qing army
They were all abandoned by the Han River and could only flee southward on foot. Under the encirclement and interception of the Ming army, it is estimated that not many of them could escape back to Wuchang.
"Choose the best of them and build up the Shuo army as soon as possible." Zhu Yongxing stood on the city tower. He pointed at the Qing prisoners who were circled and guarded, and said to Li Laiheng, the Duke of Linguo: "Weapons will be shipped soon. The Fu Shuo army will be generals.
With Xiangyang as the base for our advance, we will look at the Central Plains and coordinate our army to regain the south of the Yangtze River, and then join forces in the Northern Expedition."
"Central Plains" mainly refers to Henan Province. In ancient times, there was a saying that "whoever conquers the Central Plains conquers the world." Except for the Southern and Northern Dynasties of China, everyone believed that the dynasty that incorporated the Central Plains into its territory was the orthodox dynasty of China. The Central Plains has dominated the development of the entire Chinese civilization since ancient times.
The core area is the location of the political, economic and cultural center for most of China's history.
However, since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the southeastern region has gradually become the area where the world's wealth lies. There is a saying that "the great plans of the world depend on the southeast." China's economic and cultural center of gravity has also completely moved from the east-west axis of "Kaifeng-Chang'an" to the Jiangnan region.
.Finally fell on the north-south axis of "Hangzhou-Suzhou". When literati and scholars mentioned the term "Jiangnan", they mostly referred to the southeastern region.
In Zhu Yongxing's view, due to the decline of the Yellow River Basin, the development of the Yangtze River Basin, the advent of the sea power era, and the development of science and technology, China's economic center will be concentrated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, consisting of the eastern coastal zone and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
"T" shaped region. In his mind, the "T" shaped region consisting of the eastern coastal zone and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is China's well-deserved "New Central Plains" in the future.
But that is still the future after all. Now, Gansu, Shaanxi and Henan are contained, so that the Qing government cannot send troops southward at will, and can even use false troops to intimidate them and create a posture that directly touches their heart.
"My subordinates understand." Li Laiheng, Duke of Linguo, hesitated for a moment, pointed at the group of prisoners and said: "Your Highness, if you select soldiers from the green camp, it will be difficult to get elite soldiers, right? Huguang soldiers, I'm afraid it won't work."
Typical regional discrimination, Zhu Yongxing smiled faintly, and knew that this view and thought was deeply rooted in the hearts of many people. Among them, Gu Yanwu was hunted down by the Qing army and traveled to many places. He thought he had all the gains and losses in the world, and wrote a book "The World"
"Book of Advantages and Disadvantages of Counties". The book contains many insights gained from Gu's travels across the country, and is also a master of the theory of regional discrimination.
Zhu Yongxing disagreed with the book's detailed discussion of theories such as which people can be used as infantry, which people can be used as cavalry, and which people are not useful. The combat effectiveness of soldiers lies in training, sufficient food and pay, and whether the generals are properly trained.
It’s about encouraging and motivating measures…
Let’s talk about the Huguang Army. The Hunan Army was unparalleled in the war to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Looking further back in history, Liu Xiang’s team were all Chu people. By extension, Liu Xiu started his career as a Nanyang scholar.
, Tang Wenhuang used the Longyou team, Zhu Hongwu used the Huaixi natives...
"Elite soldiers are not based on region, but on training and command." Zhu Yongxing explained his views seriously, hoping to correct Li Laiheng's regional discrimination. "There are also sufficient food and pay, fair rewards and punishments, and strict discipline.
There are many other factors that determine it. It’s like eating food in the Qing army without fighting spirit or willingness to fight. Of course it won’t work.”
Although Li Laiheng, Duke of Linguo, did not completely agree, he still felt that it made sense, so he bowed and agreed. As for how he chose, it was naturally up to him.
"The Marquis of Xingping showed bravery this time, and the Marquis of Yangcheng and Yidu, please take some of the captured property as a reward! Well, and anyway, the deputy general of Huguang Green Flag will also reward you with some property as an incentive.
." Zhu Yongxing smiled. It would be good if he had the intention to make contributions. As for the future, he still needs long-term observation. If he is observing them, they are not observing themselves.
"Is Your Highness going to leave Jingzhou now?" Li Laiheng heard the meaning of Zhu Yongxing's words and couldn't help but ask.
"What we have to do here is to manage the place and expand and train the army." Zhu Yongxing nodded and said, "If I wait a little longer, King Zheng may be arriving soon. Then he will go to Yuezhou to take charge, and the Navy and other troops will
Continuing eastward, whether to take Wuchang or attack Gan Province first, we have to wait for further information. By the way, the war is getting intense. I can't get away. Mrs. Gao, you can bring greetings and gifts for me. If so,
Mrs. Gao is willing to go to the rear to live in peace, she can go anywhere, Guhui will ask the local government to make proper arrangements."
"I would like to thank Your Highness for your kindness on behalf of Madam. Madam really wants to meet and ask for your kindness, but she always fails to achieve her wish." Li Laiheng bowed and bowed deeply. At this time, Zhu Yongxing was still thinking about sending greetings to "Queen Gao".
In terms of property, it can be regarded as the most benevolent and righteous. I can't find fault with it.
"The days are long, and there will be more opportunities like this in the future!" Zhu Yongxing smiled, waved his hand, and said, "You guys, too, take good care of yourself and witness the lonely king create a great empire that can last for eternity. What a cycle of chaos.
Can't it be changed? If it's a holiday, I hope I can give you a few decades. If -"
"Your Highness will definitely live a long life." Li Laiheng suddenly interrupted, interrupting Zhu Yongxing.
"Haha, I'd like to lend you some good words!" Zhu Yongxing smiled slightly and patted the crenellations of the ancient city wall with emotion. "Just like the city bricks, they have gone through wind and rain. Although they have fallen off, they can still bear witness to this new history.
"
………………
Overwhelming the enemy with strength and defeating the enemy with force is the way to win that Zhu Yongxing insisted on. Therefore, the Ming army tried to only take the main attack in one direction, and contained or slowly advanced in other directions. Zhu Yongxing felt that this was the safest.
Although it is not as powerful as the rapid attack of several large armies, it also reduces the possibility of the enemy concentrating its forces and defeating all the troops.
For example, if we want to attack Wuchang now, we will mainly use the Zhengshuo Army and the Yinshuo Army. With the cooperation of the Navy and the Marine Corps, the army of more than 100,000 people will have the advantage. If we want to liberate Gan Province, the Zhengshuo Army will shrink slightly.
, to maintain the confrontation between Yuezhou and Wuchang, and then the Xianshuo army directly marched eastward, and jointly attacked Nanchang with the Dangshuo army and Wei Junzhong's troops in Gan Province. They still had the advantage in strength and victory was expected.
According to the current layout of the Qing court, Wuchang is a geographical strategic point and a transportation hub and must be defended; Nanchang is "Guangdong's Fujian household, Wu's head and Chu's tail" and must be defended; Jiangsu and Zhejiang are places of wealth and wealth, which must be defended; Jiangning, and even out of the country, must be defended.
Haikou must be defended in order to control the intrusion of the Ming navy. In the future, it will be necessary to prevent the Ming army from entering Henan from Xiangyang, and the Qing army will also defend Nanyang, the important place. If Chongqing is lost, Baoning will prevent the Ming army from entering Gansu from Hanzhong.
The importance of Shaanxi must also be maintained...
In the Jianghuai region, the Poshuo Army based in Chongming is gradually expanding and becoming stronger. If it cannot stop its westward advance, it will threaten Yangzhou and the canal. If water transportation is interrupted, the Qing government's money and food will be even more tight, and the money accumulated will be very small.
Almost spent.
You see, the stall is too big, everyone wants to defend it, and they are facing threats everywhere. After forcing Wu Sangui to rebel, the Ming army has now connected the occupied areas into one area, and can easily mobilize troops and focus on one point.
Zhu Yongxing had repeatedly studied with his staff and thought from their perspective. He believed that under the current situation, the most powerful counterattack by the Qing government should be to abandon Jiangsu and Zhejiang, gather troops in Wuchang, and fight the Ming army in a decisive battle.
The risk of doing this is very high. If you fail, everything south of the river will be lost. If you win, you can go south from Yuezhou and Changsha, directly towards Yunnan and Guizhou, and re-divide the Ming army's recovered areas.
It is better to take high risks than to sit and wait for death! Zhu Yongxing felt that if the Qing army continued to defend territory like this, it was no different from sitting still and waiting for death. During the San Francisco Rebellion, even Kangxi knew that "if you divide your troops, your strength will be weak, and you will be able to defeat them one by one."
How can we win if the horses are tired and unable to ride? The only way to win now is to take Changde and Changsha first, and then chill the courage of the thieves." Until now, the Qing court has not fully understood the situation and is still relying on its advantage.
Square angle is arranging troops.
Well, judging from the territory currently occupied by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Qing court does have an advantage, but this advantage is not stable. After repeated troop deployments, even Shandong and Zhili appear empty. Isn't this weak occupation very
Will soon become another burden?
If the fighting and consumption continue like this, when the Ming army regains all the areas south of the Yangtze River and then launches its northern expedition, how much force can the Qing court organize and mobilize? In terms of comprehensive strength, it is obvious that the Qing court does not know the factors involved.
Don't even know the term.
In fact, the course of the war should have made the Qing government aware of its own weaknesses, mainly because the navy could not compete with the Ming army. There were many Qing troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but they were constrained by coastal defenses; from the seaport to Jiangning, the same reason was that the Ming army
The army and navy were so powerful that they had to deploy defenses along the river and use river fortifications to stop them.
In other words, in coastal areas like Jiangsu and Zhejiang, nearly half of the Qing army's forces were used for defense, making it difficult to form a large military advantage and launch a strategic offensive.
Also because of the navy, the Ming army fought along the Yangtze River, which not only allowed them to maneuver their troops, but also reduced the difficulty of material transportation. Although the strength of the Yangtze River navy cannot be compared with that of the Ming navy at sea, it is still the most powerful force of the Qing army.
Unable to compete. Without naval cover and lack of ships to cross the river, wouldn't the Qing army stationed on the north bank of the Yangtze River have to be passively beaten? (To be continued...)