Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao was really here. This good news was sent by Wu Sangui: It turned out that Wu Sangui made great contributions in the battlefield in Jiangbei, and instead surrendered the general of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Zeqing, and joined forces with Duoduo to capture. Sizhou and Xuyi.
Nanjing was captured and Zhu Yousong died. Perhaps it was nothing to Shang Yi because he had been prepared for this. But it was a huge impact for the entire Nanming, which meant that the Southern Ming court had been destroyed. . Therefore, some Ming Dynasty officials who were not firm in their position were also shaken at this time, and some people with flexible minds began to think about how to gain greater benefits for themselves in such a chaos. Liu Zeqing is one of them.
Liu Zeqing was originally the worst among the four towns in Jiangbei. He had less than 30,000 troops and the most remote defense zone. He was originally guarding Rugao east of Yangzhou. However, because of this, during the Battle of Jianghuai, he hid in the merchant army. There was no loss behind it. When the merchant army counterattacked the Qing army, they also followed the fox and pretended to be powerful and drank a few bowls of soup. After the end of the Battle of Jianghuai, he was also moved to Fengyang.
Because behind it is the merchant army, Liu Zeqing is not afraid even though he is in a stalemate between the Qing army and the Huai River. Moreover, in the past few months, he has also recruited some small groups of Ming army and bandits, with more than 40,000 troops.
After Wu Sangui entered Luzhou, he also sent people to persuade Liu Zetao to surrender, but at that time Liu Zeqing had no intention of surrendering to the Qing army, because he knew that Shang Yi had sent troops to garrison Nanjing, and the merchant army in Yangzhou also sent troops to garrison around Fengyang. Therefore, Liu Zeqing also believed that this battle should be the same as the Battle of Jianghuai, and Shang Yi would still defeat the Qing army.
But after learning that Nanjing was captured and Zhu Yousong was killed, Liu Zeqing also began to shake, because he did not know the detailed process of the battle in Nanjing, nor did he know that the Qing army did not completely control Nanhua. He thought this time The Qing army defeated the merchant army and completely captured Nanjing. Liu Zeqing couldn't sit still at this moment. If even the merchant army could not stop the Qing army, then imagine who could stop the Qing army in the entire south? ?It seems that the Ming Dynasty's energy has really been exhausted. It should be the Qing court's prosperity, but you must not be too scrupulous. It is better to be more flexible. Taking advantage of the fact that you still have some capital in your hands, you can Fight for yourself some benefits.
Therefore, after making up his mind, Liu Zeqing immediately sent someone to contact Wu Sangui and proposed the conditions for his surrender, that is, after he surrendered, he must ensure that his army will not be incorporated and will still be led by himself. Liu Zeqing still understands this. , In this world, only by holding the army in your hands can you be tough and have the capital to bargain with the Qing court.
Liu Zeqing put forward the conditions, and Wu Sangui naturally could not save him. If Liu Zeqing surrendered, he would not only be able to obtain a large piece of land in Fengyang and open up the situation in the Jiangbei battlefield, but also be able to take over Liu Zeqing's 30,000 to 40,000 troops and expand his strength. .Wu Sangui also agreed to the request made by Liu Zeqing, because if Liu Zeqing wants to save his troops, he must rely on Wu Sangui, otherwise his 30,000 to 40,000 mobs would not be enough for the Qing army to get stuck in the gaps. After Liu Zeqing fell to him, Then they slowly incorporated Liu Zeqing's army for their own use. Therefore, the two hit it off and quickly reached an agreement. Then Wu Sangui immediately ordered someone to notify Duoduo.
After Duoduo heard about it, he was naturally very happy. Ajige, who was in Jiangnan, had already reached Nanjing, but he still achieved nothing in Jiangbei. When will he, the prince, be able to return to the prince? Therefore, he did not have any requests for Liu Zeqing.
Dissent, after surrendering, will you have the final say? But Duoduo also remembered that when Li Chengdong surrendered to Shang Yi, he killed Haoge and made a statement. Liu Zeqing wanted to express his opinion.
The sincerity of surrender should also be given a letter of prestige.
This request is also very reasonable. Even Wu Sangui felt that it should be, and he did not allow Liu Zeqing to refuse. Therefore, Liu Zeqing thought about it again and again and decided to help the Qing army to defraud Xuyi and Haozhou, and to submit a letter to him.
Wu Sangui and Duoduo also agreed very much, because Xuyi and Haozhou are located at the entrance of Hongze Lake in the lower reaches of the Huai River. These two places are in the hands of merchants, so the entire Huai River will not be able to be peaceful, but Xuyi and Haozhou are backed by Hong.
Zehu, the Qing army could not be besieged, but the merchant army was easily rescued by water. Therefore, during the Battle of Jianghuai, it also caused a headache for the Qing army. If Liu Zeqing could help the Qing army to defraud these two places, of course, it would be another one.
A great achievement.
The merchant army arranged a division of defenders in Xuyi and the front line of Haozhou, stationed an infantry regiment and an artillery regiment in Haozhou on the north bank of the Huai River; and an infantry regiment was stationed on Xuyi on the south bank of the Huai River. Liu Zeqing and Wu Sangui discussed and decided first.
Taking action against Xuyi, which had fewer troops, Liu Ze asked to select a thousand elite soldiers from his own troops. Wu Sangui gave him another two thousand elite soldiers, totaling three thousand soldiers, pretending to be Fengyang's defeated army, while Wu Sangui led 20,000 elite soldiers.
, chased after him. Liu Zeqi fled to the city of Xuyi on the south bank of the Huai River, and pretended that the Qing army had attacked Fengyang and was defeated to Xuyi.
Because Xuyi was originally in Fengyang Prefecture, Liu Zeqing and Xuyi's defenders had been together several times, so they became more familiar with each other. The defenders did not suspect that he was cheating, and they also opened the city gate and let Liu Zeqing enter the city.
As soon as Liu Zeqing entered Xuyi, he immediately changed his face and rushed towards the defenders. After the defenders reacted, it was too late. Liu Zeqing led his army to occupy the city gate. Although the defenders tried hard to regain the city gate, Wu Sangui's army was soon
It also killed Xuyi. The defenders in Xuyi were outnumbered. After the short-term connection, the merchant army could not exert their firepower advantages, and they were finally captured by the Qing army. Most of the defenders in a regiment suffered casualties, and only less than 1,500 escaped.
Hundreds of people.
At the same time, Duoduo also led an army of 30,000 and more than 100 artillery pieces to launch an attack on Haozhou on the north bank of the Huai River. Haozhou and Xuyi were originally mutually supportive. After Xuyi was lost, Haozhou was also alone and could not be heard.
Although Luo Yuanbin brought two divisions to rescue Xuyi, Wu Sangui sent a group of troops to attack Yangzhou, forcing Luo Yuanbin to retreat to Yangzhou. Therefore, he had to order the defenders of Haozhou to evacuate from the waterway and retreat to Huai'an.
Haozhou and Xuyi were captured by the Qing army in this battle. The Qing army also achieved a rare complete victory over the merchant army. The merchant army died in total and the Qing army lost nearly 3,500 people.
The rest of the people also seized more than 40 artillery pieces, seven organ guns, and thousands of rifles. Of course, most of the weapons were obtained in Xuyi. And at this time, the Qing army completely controlled the entire Huai River, and Luo Yuanbin
He could only be forced to evacuate all his troops to the east of the canal and arrange defense lines based on the canal.
After receiving the report, Ajige was overjoyed. It was not easy to win the merchant army once. Moreover, in the famous discussion, Wu Sangui's troops were controlled by him, so Ajige's contribution was also paid.
It is indeed rare to have so many weapons. Because the Qing army has always wanted to get samples of firearms from the Merchant Army and study it carefully. Why can the firearms from the Merchant Army have such great power? This time I have been considering to have enough money.
.
Of course, Ajige couldn't think of such a long time. The most urgent task was to attack Nanjing as soon as possible. Now it was already thirteen days, so he immediately ordered Wu Sangui to lead the people across the river immediately to support the battlefield in Jiangnan, and at the same time, he also went to Dali.
Shengguan and Chunhua Town each sent 15,000 troops to guard and protect the periphery of Nanjing. However, in this way, the Qing army's troops left behind in Nanjing were only about 40,000.
After Shang Yi learned about Jiangbei's defeat, he was also shocked. This situation in Jiangbei was very dangerous, and it was not possible for the entire northern Jiangsu region to fall. Of course, the main reason for the defeat was that the situation was the main reason for the defeat.
It was not the lack of combat effectiveness of the merchant army, but Liu Zeqing's surrender to Ge. But the impact was very bad, because it was the first time that the merchant army had completely defeated the Qing army. If Cheng Jin had not just won the big victory on the outside of Nanjing, the merchants would have been the same as the merchants.
The morale of the army was a big blow. The most urgent task was to strengthen publicity and try to recover as much as possible.
As for the weapons seized by the Qing army, there is nothing we can do about it. As long as we are still fighting with the Qing army, such things will be difficult to avoid. It is already very good to be delayed until now. Moreover, because Guan Jian's
The technical thunder mercury has not been leaked yet, so even if the Qing army imitated it, the effect was limited.
Therefore, Shang Yi immediately ordered to go to Yangzhou to comfort Luo Yuanbin. The main responsibility for the defeat was not on him, but he must learn from the examination and organize the subsequent battles. When you must play, you can let Huaian go, but you must defend Yangzhou.
This was the last front of northern Jiangsu. He also ordered the Hangzhou United Front Work Department to transfer two brigades to Jiangbei to strengthen the troops in Jiangbei. He also ordered Zhou Shaohuan, who was in southern Shandong, to launch several medium-scale attacks on the Qing army to attract
Duoduo's attention reduces the pressure from northern Jiangsu. At the same time, he warns the entire army that in the future, even if it is an army with unknown origin, even if it is an army, he should be vigilant and interrogate in detail, and not let it go easily. After all, at this time,
No one can rely on his own people.
Of course, the best way to eliminate the impact of this defeat is to fight a few more victories in the Jiangnan battlefield. On the one hand, victory can be used to increase the morale of the entire army, and also strengthen the theme of publicity. On the other hand, it also forces the Qing army to mobilize from Jiangbei.
The troops can increase the Jiangnan battlefield, thereby reducing the pressure on the Jiangbei battlefield. Moreover, new fighter opportunities have appeared in the Jiangnan battlefield now.
First of all, in Nanjing, the Qing army had less than 40,000 troops, and the defenders outside Nanjing could not move under the oppression of Chengjin. They could launch several attacks in Nanjing to Ajige
Apply pressure. At the same time, King Zhishun Shangkexi has led his army to advance eastward. This is another good opportunity for the merchant army who is good at fighting ambush wars.
So Shang Yi immediately ordered Cheng Jin to prepare to ambush Shang Kexi's men on the way to march. At the same time, in Nanjing, the merchant army also began to attack the imperial city.