Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 311: Not Ahead, Not Far Away

January 3

Changsha, Hunan
Since Ganzhou was besieged, Hunan became panic-stricken. He Tengjiao not only strengthened the defense along the river, but also sent Liu Tichun, Tian Jianxiu and other troops to the junction of the two provinces to guard the pass.

In the eyes of others, since Jiangxi was attacked by the Qing army, Hunan should have sent troops to rescue it no matter what. Such an action was not completely ineffective, but it seemed a bit pretentious.

In fact, there is no way around it.

Hunan may look mountainous and has deep valleys, but strategically it is a very difficult place to defend. At this time, the eastern pass was in the hands of the Qing army, and the north was the flat Dongting Lake Plain. Even though He Tengjiao and his men knew that the lips and teeth would be in danger, they were still in a dilemma.

"General, it's not too late to send troops now. If we wait until Ganzhou falls, then Hunan will have no choice but to retreat into the Shiwan Mountains!"

After explaining his reasons in detail, Du Yinxi added this sentence at the end with great sorrow.

But what was unexpected, yet reasonable, was that He Tengjiao, who was sitting in the lobby, just had a frown on his face the whole time, without any other reaction.

Seeing this situation, all the subordinates naturally knew that he was also in hesitancy. But when Du Yinxi wanted to state his reasons again, Zhang Kuang spoke before him.

"Commander-in-chief, what Ni Tai said is true, but the Qing army is blocking the mountain pass. Even if we really send troops, we have to force our way through. If the Tartars come from the north again, not only the Jiangxi army, but also us will be detained in the mountains. The situation in Central and South China will really be a mess!"

"Degenerate? If Jiangxi is lost, won't Hunan also be corrupted?"

"Choose the lesser of two evils. If we can save the Hunan army, we will have a chance to counterattack even if we retreat to the mountains."

"Counterattack? Our money, food, and military resources have all fallen into the hands of the enemy. What can we use to counterattack?!"

This is the dilemma faced by Hunan officials.

What Du Yinxi said makes sense, but what Zhang Kuang thought is also acceptable. The root cause is that Hunan is in an absolute strategic passive position, which makes it seem unable to advance or retreat and is caught in a dilemma.

He Tengjiao was well aware of this, and he had even figured out the obstacles before his colleagues.

But what's the use?

Even if he had a clear mind, the situation in Hunan was like this. Between taking a gamble and drinking poison to quench thirst, who could easily make up their mind?
"All right."

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, He Tengjiao, who had remained silent since the beginning of the meeting, suddenly said something.

"I understand what you two said, but Hunan alone has no chance of dealing with this situation. It all depends on how the central government arranges it."

As soon as he finished speaking, both Du Yinxi and Zhang Kuang cast surprised glances at He Tengjiao.

The imperial court placed supervising generals in various places so that they could respond promptly to emergencies. But now He Tengjiao actually planned to wait for arrangements from the central government. How could they remain calm?
"Commander-in-chief! Yingtian is thousands of miles away. If we wait for news from the Central Government, Ganzhou might have been lost already."

Du Yinxi's personality was still quite straightforward. After hearing this, Zhang Kuang remained silent, but he said something very straightforward, forcing He Tengjiao to explain in detail.

"The Qing army came well prepared this time. Our army was caught off guard and could only guard the gates carefully. If we attack rashly, it would be fine if we cannot save Jiangxi, but if Hunan is lost, we will never be able to atone for our sins even if we die a thousand times."

He Tengjiao had said so much that even if Du Yinxi was straightforward, he understood what he meant.

In essence, their duty was to defend Hunan for the court. If Hunan was lost while rescuing Jiangxi, it would be a serious crime when the court blamed them.

Can.
Are we just going to watch Jiangxi fall into the hands of the Qing army?

"Commander-in-chief, Your Majesty is wise, not like Hongguang or the late emperor. If our army had marched decisively, I think you would not have been punished." "Be careful what you say!"

As soon as Du Yinxi finished speaking, Zhang Kuang immediately snorted with a hint of nervousness.

He and Du Yinxi did not have much personal relationship, nor did they have any personal grudges. No matter how they argued before, it was all for official business. Now he spoke without restraint, not only referring to the late emperor, but also directly tearing off his superior's fig leaf.

Under such circumstances, his scolding had a protective meaning.

In terms of military strategy alone, he may be as good as Du Yinxi, but if political struggles are taken into consideration, he is more of a real bureaucrat than Du Yinxi.

Let's take this argument as an example.

He knew that if He Tengjiao led the Hunan army to march into Jiangxi as Du Yinxi said, there was a certain possibility of resolving the crisis. But at the same time, he was also very clear that things in the world were not that simple.

Not to mention whether there is a conflict between the overall situation and their own interests, the degree of obedience of people like Tian Jianxiu and Liu Tichun to He Tengjiao alone is enough to be the reason for failure.

Once he figured this out, Zhang Kuang naturally realized that sending troops to Jiangxi was a pipe dream. How could he possibly make such a suggestion?
"Commander-in-chief! Your subordinate!"

Du Yinxi did not stop trying to persuade He Tengjiao because of Zhang Kuang's scolding. Even though the commander-in-chief's face looked extremely ugly, he continued to speak.

Seeing this situation, Zhang Kuang was naturally anxious, but how could a wise man like him get himself into this?

Alas~~~ I still haven’t figured it out.

With this in mind, Zhang Kuang waited for He Tengjiao to vent his anger before helping to stop Yinxi from turning around. However, who would have thought that before the commander-in-chief could even open his mouth, the sound of hurried footsteps reached everyone's ears.

"Commander-in-chief! There is a man outside the palace claiming to be your Majesty's guard, saying that there is a military order."

Guard?

Military order?

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present felt a sense of unreality.

There are rules for conveying His Majesty's orders, so why would a guard come?
But given He Tengjiao's cautious personality, how could he easily make a conclusion before seeing the person? After thinking for a while, he finally ordered someone to bring him in.

"I pay my respects to the commander-in-chief and all the lords."

"Where did the unknown angel come from?"

The guard bowed as soon as he entered the hall, and He Tengjiao waited until he finished the ceremony before asking a question with a smile on his face.

"Let the commander know that I came from Jiujiang, and this time I came from the area controlled by the Qing army, so I lost the rules."

This guard was also a smart man. While answering He Tengjiao's question, he also resolved everyone's doubts.

But everyone knew that Jiujiang had fallen into the hands of the Tartars since Zuo Liangyu's "clearing of the court". His explanation not only failed to resolve the doubts of the Hunan officials, but made them even more suspicious.

"Jiujiang? Could it be that the Tartars admired our Ming Dynasty and gave up this important town?"

“Although it’s not in the right place, it’s not far off either.”

(End of this chapter)