Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 316: Follow Me Out and Have a Look

January 3

Ganzhou. Qing Army Camp
More than ten days have passed since the troops arrived at Ganzhou. Although the defenses in the city have become weaker and weaker under repeated attacks, according to the current situation, it will take a few more days to break the city.

Ajige was naturally a little annoyed about this situation, but what annoyed him even more was the Ming army that appeared and disappeared like a ghost on the supply line.

"Let them run away again?"

Looking at Wang Deren kneeling in the tent, Ajige was so angry that he didn't know where to vent his anger.

The area in southern Jiangxi is full of mountains, and apart from city fortresses like Ganzhou, there are few places where people gather.

This may not be a big deal for the Ming army which has systematic logistical supplies, but it became a rather tricky situation for the Qing army which was accustomed to getting food locally.

Originally, these were nothing.

After all, Wuzhen Chaoha was right behind the army. As long as they could arrive in time, it would only take five or six days to capture Ganzhou.

By then, not to mention that there would be enough food and grass in the city for the army, even if the defenders really burned it, Ajige would be able to deal with it calmly and would not let more than 100,000 troops starve to death.

But plans can never keep up with changes.

Wuzhen Chaoha, who was heavily guarded, was intercepted by the Ming army.

When Ajige first heard the letter, he didn't believe it at all. He knew very well that the key to conquering Ganzhou lay not in the soldiers but in Wuzhen Chaoha's artillery, so while leading his troops south, he also sent thousands of cavalry and infantry to support them.

As he thought, the main force of Ganzhou had been lured away, and the rest had been destroyed in Ji'an.

If the Ming army still has troops, they should be transferred back to defend the city. This level of protection should be enough to bring Wuzhen Chaoha safely to Ganzhou.

But even in this situation, not only were all the soldiers and horses that went to guard them annihilated, but even their artillery were all sunk into the river.

As a result, not only was the speed of capturing Ganzhou greatly affected, but Ajige also had to divide his troops to search for this Ming army in order to ensure the safety of the food supply route.

Although the troops he sent out had caught the Ming army's tail several times, they were unable to kill it with one blow due to the limitations of the surrounding terrain.

so.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I have already surrounded a group of Ming troops, but..."

"Don't say it, I know."

Wang Deren waved his hands weakly and stopped talking immediately.

Ajige was naturally angry at this time, but fundamentally, this anger was not directed at Wang Deren.

There are two roads from Ji'an to Ganzhou. One is to go upstream along the Ganjiang River to the south, and the other is to go through Xingguo along the mountain path.

In comparison, although water transportation saves time and effort, the Qing army did not gather enough boats in a hurry, so in addition to relying on water transportation, part of the supplies for the front line also had to come from land.

But Wu Zhenchaoha was intercepted here.

The road was full of undulating hills and complex terrain. Since the Ming army showed up, they had been harassing the grain route by relying on their familiarity with the terrain.

Up to now, although Ajige had sent troops to siege the enemy several times, he always returned empty-handed like this time.

Under such circumstances, even if he was resentful in his heart, he knew that it was not his fault. Even though his face looked unhappy, he would not vent his anger on his soldiers.

Wang Deren had anticipated Ajige's reaction. When he saw that the other party had no intention of pursuing the matter, although he still showed panic on his face, he couldn't help but feel suspicious in his heart.

After several failed encirclements and suppressions, the generals in the army knew that it was impossible to catch those local snakes. The reason why the prince continued to send troops was just to contain them on the periphery of the battlefield and prevent them from having too much impact on the siege.

But sending people out again and again is not a solution. Ganzhou City has been on the verge of collapse these days. It would be better to abandon this land food route and send another army to guard the intersection.

In this way, we can prevent the Ming army from having too much impact on the main battlefield, and save the troops from the trouble of running around. It is always better than returning empty-handed repeatedly like now, which will damage their own morale.

But then again, Wang Deren had only been leading an army for a month or two. It was already too much for him to have such thoughts in his mind. How could he have the courage to give advice to Ajige?

"Oh! I'm really unlucky today."

Just as Wang Deren was thinking, a rather annoyed voice came into the tent. When he turned his head, he saw Shang Kexi and Wang Guangen striding in.

"Your Highness is right. If those Ming soldiers hadn't gone crazy, we would have been able to capture Ganzhou today."

"But you can't be careless. Send more troops tomorrow and try to attack the city."

After hearing this conversation, Ajige, who was a little discouraged, immediately became energetic. Without waiting for the two to say anything else, he asked directly: "What's the situation?"

"It was almost like that. We had our people firmly established on the city wall, but a few Ming soldiers went crazy and jumped down from the city wall holding our people."

When Ajige heard these words, his hope naturally extinguished a little.

However, after attacking for so many days, this was the first time they had gained a foothold in the city, so he naturally had to encourage Wang Guangen.

"Well done. If your people can get the credit for being the first to reach the site, I will definitely ask the regent for credit for you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your cultivation!"

Hearing this, Wang Guangen was overjoyed, but Wang Deren, who was also kneeling in the tent, felt mixed emotions.

Being able to capture Ganzhou is naturally a great achievement, but without the consumption of these people, would Wang Guangen have been able to succeed smoothly?
Alas~~~~.

With a heavy sigh in his heart, Wang Deren continued to kneel on the ground awkwardly and listen to the two princes' promise of rewards. But at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the tent, and then a soldier bowed at the door of the tent.

"Your Majesty! The Ming army is coming by land, and is now less than five miles away from the camp!"

By land?

Could it be the Ming army hiding in the mountains?

When they heard the words, the people in the tent immediately thought of the origin of this Ming army, but at the same time they couldn't help but feel deep doubts in their hearts.

That Ming army, relying on their familiarity with the mountain terrain, caused considerable trouble to their own side, but this was only due to the geographical advantage and did not mean that they were so strong that their own team was helpless.

Now they actually dared to leave the cover of the mountains and appear directly around the camp. What other possibility could there be except that they had some conspiracy?

just
What plans will they have?

As the thought came to their minds, the others turned their eyes to Ajige. However, Prince Ying was also a little confused. After thinking about it, he still couldn't figure out why the Ming army came back to kill them just after they had escaped.

Under such circumstances, the huge military tent fell into silence for a moment.

"Report~~~~~~, Your Majesty, the Ming army is three miles outside the camp."

"Organize the troops and follow me out to take a look."

(End of this chapter)