Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 295: Guangzhou
Let’s go back to the night of February 28th.

Although Xu Renjue and the Guangzhou garrison paid a heavy price during the day, they finally withstood the Tartar attack.

The so-called one blast, then decay, and exhaustion.

If the first wave of attacks in a thousand-mile raid fails to succeed, the defenders only need to follow the routine and advance steadily. The attackers, who are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, morale, and logistics, will probably be defeated and gradually become prey.

But how could Hong Chengchou's plan be so simple?
After he left Ustu by boat, he didn't ask another question. If he wasn't almost 100% sure of taking Guangzhou, how could he be so confident?
For him, it was not important whether Ustu's troops could capture Guangzhou. The key was that this action would allow the Dutch to see the weakness of the Ming Dynasty, thereby rekindling their covetousness that was crushed by the Ming army in the Battle of Liaoluo Bay.

As for Guangzhou.
Even if they could not capture Ustu, they could still fight the defenders to a draw. How could the Dutch resist when they saw the fruit flesh already peeled and placed in front of them?
Naturally, Hong Chengchou's plans did not come out of thin air.

Although he had been fighting against peasant armies in three border areas and had never dealt with Westerners, he had some understanding of the Ming-Dutch War at sea through the court's reports.

It was precisely because of this understanding that he knew that the Dutch did not just want to seize an island.

When the lion is awake, the jackal naturally dares not act rashly, but if someone exposes the lion's hidden wounds, it is easy to imagine what choice the jackal will make.

As one of the most renowned strategic and tactical masters in the late Ming Dynasty, it should not be difficult for him to make full use of all available conditions. His confidence in the army heading south also came from this.

The development of things did not exceed Hong Chengchou's expectations.

After some consideration, Brunden, who had wanted to make this cooperation a complete failure, finally ordered the musketeers and pirates on the ship to cooperate with the Qing army to attack Guangzhou.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened next. The roadblocks built by the defenders when the Qing army retreated not only lost their original function in front of the Dutch equipped with flintlock rifles, but also became an obstacle to the counterattack.

After paying a heavy price, even though Xu Renjue was unwilling, he had to abandon the open areas around the city walls and rely on the houses in the city to fight the enemy.

"General Xu, the enemy is strong. It would be better for us to retreat to Zhaoqing first and make long-term plans."

Looking at Xu Renjue who was bandaging his wound, Gu Yuanjing hesitated for a while and finally spoke out what was in his mind.

Although the enemy stopped attacking during the day due to the obstruction of civilian houses, the defenders had already suffered heavy casualties from the Dutch firearms. If they fought again tomorrow, it would seem that they would have no chance of stopping the Dutch.

This is not because he is too pessimistic.

Although Gu Yuanjing knew nothing about military affairs, this was the first time he had seen a real battle up close. However, after only fighting for half a day, they had reached the end of their rope. It would be better to retreat first and wait for reinforcements to arrive before trying to retake Guangzhou.

Xu Renjue could somewhat understand Gu Yuanjing's idea, but there were not many troops stationed in Guangdong. If he really wanted to counterattack, he would have to seek help from other provinces.

Not to mention how long it would take for the news to be transmitted, even if the surrounding provinces mobilized troops and rushed to Guangdong as soon as they received the news, it would take at least 10 to 20 days.

Will it still be like this then?

"Sir, please try to transport the military supplies out of the city first, and I will fight another battle tonight. If..." At this point, Xu Renjue couldn't help but pause, as if the next words were extremely difficult to say: "If things are impossible, we can only retreat to Zhaoqing."

"General Xu, the Dutch have powerful firearms."

"Your Excellency, I have been entrusted with great responsibility by His Majesty. If I abandon Guangzhou like this, how can I face His Majesty again?"

After hearing what Xu Renjue said, Gu Yuanjing wanted to persuade him again, but who would have thought that he was interrupted halfway through his words. Although he was unwilling, the other party had already said so much, what else could he say?
To be honest, what Gu Yuanjing said was not without reason. Even Xu Renjue, who insisted on making another attempt, knew that his men were no match for the Dutch.

but
If you can't win, then just stop fighting?

If he really felt that he could not win the battle, he could just abandon the city and flee with peace of mind. Then His Majesty should have stayed safely in prison and waited for the Tartars to enter the city. How could he have allowed the situation to become like this?

"Is everything ready?"

"Ready."

After seeing that the wounds on his body had been treated by the military medical officer, Xu Renjue asked a question to the soldier beside him and then punched Gu Yuanjing.

"Your Excellency, I will go first."

"General Xu, General Xu. Hi!"

Seeing Xu Renjue turn and leave, Gu Yuanjing called out several times but didn't know what to say.

From a selfish point of view, he was absolutely unwilling to let the future brother-in-law of the king take any more risks.

After all, although he had the duty to defend the territory, as the Governor of Guangdong he did not need to be obsessed with the gains and losses of a city or a place. But if Xu Renjue had an accident and he was safe and sound, even if Guangzhou could be successfully recovered later, how could he not take any responsibility?

To be honest, if he wanted to use Xu Renjue to take the blame for the loss of territory, there was a way.

According to the Ming Dynasty's rule of controlling the military with the civil, he only needed to act like a governor and stop them by claiming the overall situation of Guangdong.

But under such circumstances, he was unable to say another word until Xu Renjue walked out of the door. Although he was concerned about his identity, who could deny that deep in his heart Gu Yuanjing also wanted to keep Guangzhou for the Ming Dynasty?

"Your Excellency, General Xu has left, so let's leave as well."

Just when Gu Yuanjing was extremely conflicted, Song Yingsheng, who had been silent in the lobby, suddenly said something. After hearing this, Gu Yuanjing didn't know whether he was anxious about whether the night attack would succeed or worried about his career. A sudden burst of anger arose in his heart, and he said something to Song Yingsheng neither hard nor soft.

"Move? Abandon the city and flee?"

"Sir, I want to first transport the silver in the treasury out of the city, and leave one person to wait in the granary. If there is any problem, all the stored grain will be burned."

"Leave one person? Who?"

"The new prefect has not yet arrived, so naturally I am the subordinate."

Having said that, how could Gu Yuanjing not know what Song Yingsheng was thinking.

Burning the grain and grass sounded like something that could be accomplished by just throwing a torch, but Gu Yuanjing ran around the granary in the city all day long, so how could he not know that it would be absolutely impossible to accomplish this without spending an hour or two.

If he really did as he said, and waited until the front was exhausted before starting to burn the food stored in the city, then how could Song Yingsheng have any chance of escaping?
"You two want to put the blame for the loss of land on me alone."

"The situation is like this, I can only ask the governor to bear with me."

After he finished speaking, Gu Yuanjing fell silent again.

He was not a very eloquent person, and it was a rare scene that he fell silent twice within a short period of time because he had nothing to say.

But what could he say? Was he going to die in Guangzhou with these two people?
So when the reinforcements arrive, who will lead the overall counterattack on Guangzhou?
"take leave."

At this moment, no matter what he had thought before, he could only bow when facing Song Yingsheng.

"Please tell my humble brother that there are a few more books in Fengxin's home. Let him study them carefully."

"understood."

Gu Yuanjing's footsteps did not stop because of the instructions coming from behind him, but his brief response seemed to be trembling.

Looking at the figure walking quickly out of the yamen, Song Yingsheng couldn't help but smile, but the smile disappeared after a moment.

Gu Yuanjing probably still held out some hope for this night attack, but both Song Yingsheng, who knew a lot about muskets, and Xu Renjue, who had a family background in musketry, were just doing their best.

Take Xu Renjue for example. The waves of bullets during the day not only shattered the fighting spirit of the local garrison in Guangzhou, but also left a deep shadow in the hearts of the Yingtian Army.

Under such circumstances, if it were any other general, they would probably want to rely on the densely populated civilian houses to continue fighting the Dutch.

After all, in the concept of Ming Dynasty generals, weapons like muskets can only be used for long-range combat. Once someone gets close to them, there is only one way to go: death.

Now they have retreated to the open area around the city walls. If the Dutch dare to enter such a narrow area, they will be hit head-on.

By then, the morale of the soldiers will gradually recover, and it will be convenient for the defenders to either seek an opportunity to launch a counterattack or just deal with the situation.

In this way, at least we can ensure that we will not win or lose. Even if we are defeated in the end, we will not have to put all our chips on the night attack like we do now.

But Xu Renjue still stayed with Zhu Cilang for a long time.

Not only had he seen His Majesty use artillery, he also knew that some of the artillery on Western warships was on wheels.

If he really gave up the night attack because he wanted to deal with the enemy by relying on civilian houses, then perhaps a lot of cannons would be pulled into the city tomorrow.

With such knowledge, how could he give up the opportunity of night attack, and how could he dare to pin his hopes on those fragile houses?
It was probably a last resort.

Looking at the hundreds of Yingtian soldiers lined up in front of him, Xu Renjue completely dispelled the last bit of hesitation in his heart and said loudly: "You have all followed your majesty from Yingtian, and you all know that today's situation is not easy to come by. I will not say much, just fight to the death!"

"It's just a fight to the death!"

As the saying goes, a loud drum does not need to be struck again. Although these Yingtian soldiers have not fought in as many tough battles as the Suwei, their morale is extraordinary due to the encouragement of their former comrades.

As soon as they finished speaking, Xu Renjue jumped down from the earthen platform, and then teams of soldiers led by the general rushed straight to the gap in the city wall through the alleys and streets.

Although this was Xu Renjue's last fight, it was not a charge to the death.

He understood clearly that by the time the battle ended it would be night, and even if the enemy wanted to occupy the gap, they would not be able to repair many defensive fortifications in the darkness.

But if he missed tonight and waited for the enemy to repair the gap in the city wall, he would not have any chance at all.

"General, the scouts have reached the edge of the houses."

After all, he still had some geographical advantages in Guangzhou city. Although it was late at night, his soldiers still successfully sneaked to the junction of the open area of ​​the city wall and the houses.

All that remains is to wait quietly for the opportunity to come.

This time he did not intend to wait until the second half of the night to launch the attack as usual, but instead prepared to rush directly to the enemy's temporary camp after midnight.

The reasons for his decision were quite complicated, but a large part of it was because he saw the fierce Tartar soldier with whom he had fought on the Yingtian city wall.

The reason is simple. You can't escape from the false and real ones. The Tartar must know that Your Majesty has taken Zhenjiang at night. If he really calculated your movements, he would let the soldiers rest early to prepare for a possible raid in the second half of the night.

Time passed little by little, and both Xu Renjue and his soldiers were on high alert. When a soldier who was good at judging time by the weather whispered something to him, he took the lead and quietly sneaked out from his hiding place.

At this time, military tents had been erected at the gaps in the city wall, and a circle of simple defensive fortifications consisting of chevaux de frise and roadblocks had been set up around the temporary camp.

"Whoosh."

"Whoosh."

"Whoosh."

Following the successive sounds of breaking air, several night watch soldiers inside the fortifications fell down.

Seeing this, Xu Renjue's pace became even faster, but unfortunately, he had only run eight or nine steps when a whistle sounded in the enemy camp.

Although this was understandable, Xu Renjue couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. But after all, he had already sneaked to within 20 feet of the enemy camp, so he didn't have time to feel sentimental.

"kill!"

With a loud shout, the soldiers under his command immediately gave up hiding their whereabouts. The leading soldiers rushed to the enemy camp as quickly as possible, and then formed groups of four or five to move the roadblocks in front of them to both sides.

It happened in a flash. It only took about 10 to 20 breaths from the time the arrows were shot to the time the soldiers began to move the roadblocks. But in just this short period of time, many soldiers in the enemy camp had been awakened by the whistle. By the time Xu Renjue and his men broke through the roadblocks and rushed into the camp, bursts of shouts were already heard in the camp.

Seeing this, he knew that his plan had not failed, but at the same time he could not help but be surprised at the enemy's reaction speed.

Everyone knows that when attacked, the stronger the army, the faster it will react.

Although there were figures running continuously in the enemy camp at this time, the direction they were running in was not chosen randomly, but they were gathering towards different locations.

At this point, Xu Renjue naturally knew that although he had successfully entered the enemy camp, it would be extremely difficult to defeat the enemy in this night attack as he had originally planned.

I guess the enemy has already expected this.

Thinking of this, he did not feel depressed or disappointed at all. After all, this action was just a fight to the death. Even if the enemy was really prepared, the worst that could happen was a battle to the death.

"kill!"

(End of this chapter)