Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 318: Entering the Qing Army Camp

Regardless of whether Hu Maozhen was acting or not, Zhang An, who had received favor from Zhu Cilang, was finally convinced by him.

This was naturally because he moved the other person's heart with his sincere feelings.

But it is undeniable that vested interests also played a huge role in this.

In essence, Zhu Cilang's kindness was bestowed upon the entire Dong people, and Zhang An was just a representative among them.

If not, even if Zhang An was willing to die for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, how could so many barbarian soldiers under his command go crazy?

Turn back time.

Just when the Qing army was a little bit flustered by the sudden arrival of the Ming army, the Ganzhou defenders also became nervous because of the unusual movements in the enemy camp.

"Commander-in-chief! The Tartars are moving again!"

Following the anxious shouts of the soldiers on the city wall, Wan Yuanji, who was still considering how to allocate the remaining troops, immediately turned his attention to outside the city.

At this time, the Qing army that was originally stationed between the enemy camp and the Ganzhou city wall had already retreated, and there was no one in sight except some civilians who were cleaning the battlefield.

This was just a normal procedure. In order to prevent the defenders from sabotaging the city at night, the Qing army would pull all the equipment back to the camp after the siege each day.

Seeing this, Wan Wanji was a little confused, but when he turned his head to look to his side, he found that the attention of the soldiers and generals on the city seemed to be directed to a farther place.

"Commander-in-chief, the enemy's rear camp."

Someone was paying attention to Wan Yuanji's reaction. After hearing the reminder, he looked in the direction indicated.

According to common sense, since the enemy has already cleaned up the battlefield, it is unlikely that they will launch another offensive.

But there were clearly countless small black dots moving around in the enemy's rear camp. How could this happen if the Tartars were not making any moves?

Faced with this extremely contradictory situation, Wan Yuanji, who was not good at military strategy, was immediately confused.

Attacking a city requires the assistance of various machines and equipment, but the Tartars have clearly cleared out everything on the battlefield, so it would be useless even if soldiers were dispatched.

If you think about it this way, then the movements within the Qing army's rear camp would seem extremely strange.

"Yinxuan, in your opinion, what plans will the Tartars have?"

After thinking for a while, Wan Yuanji still couldn't figure it out. Fortunately, there were military generals in the city to assist him, so he turned to Zhao Yinxuan and asked a question.

"Commander-in-chief, the Tartars have just retreated, so they are not going to attack the city again," Zhao Yinxuan said some meaningless nonsense, and then paused for a moment. When the other party seemed a little disappointed, he hesitated and said, "Could there be any unusual movements outside?"

Outside? Unusual movement?
As soon as Wan Wanji heard these two words, some hope immediately arose in his heart, but this hope only lasted for a moment before being shattered by reality.

The outsiders were obviously talking about the outskirts of the Qing army camp, and the unusual movements meant that the Qing army felt threatened.

If these two words are true at the same time, it means that reinforcements have finally arrived.

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Where did Jiangxi get the reinforcements?
On the surface, there are Chang Guanlin's troops in the northeast of Ganzhou, and He Tengjiao's troops in the northwest. If we also count Hao Yaoqi who was sent to support Guangzhou and Hu and Zhang who were sent to Fuzhou, the number of troops that can come to rescue Ganzhou can be at least 200,000 or 300,000.

However, Guangzhou was an important node for the flow of overseas grain into the southwest and central south. Before it was recovered, Hao Yaoqi had no time to look north.

Part of the Hunan Ming army was on guard against the Shaanxi Qing army, and if the rest wanted to take action, they had to capture cities like Ji'an.
For example, Chang Guanlin and the troops under Hu and Zhang either made slow progress due to the heavy obstruction of the Qing army, or had only a few thousand men.

If this is the case, who else can come to the rescue of Ganzhou?
unless
With this in mind, Wan Yuanji turned his head and looked at the wide river.

However, before being surrounded, the navy seemed to be blocked in the Anqing area. When he thought of the important town of Jiujiang lying on the Yangtze River behind it, he gave up the thought of reinforcements arriving.

"hope so."

After saying this with a bit of disappointment, Wan Yuanji glanced at the "soldiers" on the city wall.

At this time, the defenders, composed of wounded soldiers, healthy women, young men, and old men, all looked towards the Qing army camp with hope in their eyes, obviously having great hopes for the arrival of reinforcements.

Faced with this situation, even though Wan Yuanji had already concluded that the Qing army's unusual movements were due to other reasons, he still looked over with the "soldiers".

"Look! North! North!"

A burst of shouting was heard, and Wan Yuanji, whose vision was originally unfocused, could not help but look further away. After he used his eyes to make out a rough idea, his whole body began to tremble slightly.

At this time, the small black dots in the Qing army camp had gathered at the edge of the camp. At the same time, a black line was slowly approaching from a farther distance.

Reinforcements?!
is it possible?
But if they were not reinforcements, why would they march towards the camp wall in formation, and why would the Qing army be in a posture of ready defense?

"Print and select!"

"You will finally understand."

Perhaps it was the tacit understanding developed over the past few months. Wan Wanji only had to shout once and Zhao Yinxuan turned around and walked towards the city.

He was not sure whether the arrivals were reinforcements, nor was he sure whether the reinforcements could successfully break through the Qing army's defense line. But no matter what the final situation would be, as the party defending the city, they had to make all preparations first.

Otherwise, if they really missed the opportunity due to insufficient preparation, they, the generals, would be truly sorry to His Majesty and the soldiers.

Seeing Zhao Yinxuan taking the order and leaving, Wan Yuanji turned his attention to the distance again.

But the distance was too far, and he could not see clearly. Apart from imagining the situation on the field based on the ambiguous movements of the black spots, he could only lean forward as far as possible.

"The fighting has begun! It must be reinforcements!"

Fighting?

Just when Wan Yuanji was feeling anxious, a soldier with good eyesight shouted loudly. When he looked carefully according to the words, he saw that there seemed to be a real battle taking place on the edge of the Qing army camp.

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It shouldn't be.

He was not good at leading troops, but with his more than a year of experience, he knew the importance of sending out scouts.

In his opinion, if he could understand the truth, a veteran like Ajige should also understand it.

But now this "Ming army" with unclear origins has suddenly arrived near the Qing army camp in broad daylight.
Could it be a scam?

Thinking of this, Wan Yuanji's slightly excited mood suddenly calmed down, and then examples one after another emerged in his mind.

"Send a message to Zhao Yinxuan, do not move without my order."

As soon as he finished speaking, a soldier went to the city to pass on the order. Although Wan Yuanji turned his attention to the distance, his mood at this moment was completely different from before. The timing was wrong, the method was wrong, and coupled with the slow response of the Qing army, this seemed like an act.

He knew very well that there was no one in Ganzhou City who did not hope for the arrival of reinforcements, but at the same time, such sentiment would become a breakthrough point for the Qing army.

If that group of "reinforcements" really arrives at the city, what should I choose?

"It's broken! It's broken! The reinforcements have entered the Qing army camp!"

Just when Wan Yuanji was feeling extremely conflicted, the voice of the soldier from before rang out again on the city wall. When he looked closely, he saw that changes had indeed taken place where the two armies met.

So relaxing.

The Qing army had been camping for half a month. Even if the camp walls were not solid at first, they should not have been breached so easily by now.

If we think in this way, then most of the reinforcements’ attack on the camp was just a show.

But if.
But if the people coming are really "reinforcements", then this could also be a trap set by the Tartars to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

As one thought after another came to his mind, Wan Yuanji's mind became a mess.

He could come up with a long list of evidence that the "reinforcements" were false, but he could also find some reasons why the "reinforcements" were true.

In the final analysis, as a commander, he has to make quick decisions based on complex information. How can a civil servant like him who has no experience in battle tell which is true and which is false?
Generals Hu and Zhang, who had already entered the Qing army camp, were unaware of Wan Yuanji's dilemma. Although they had now entered the Qing army camp, they were caught in a dilemma facing all kinds of strange things.

According to the original plan, the Qing army that had just fought with them should have returned to the camp, and they would follow closely and take advantage of this brief gap to launch an attack.

On the surface, this seemed to be a clever trick used by Generals Hu and Zhang, but in reality it was a helpless move.

Naturally, launching an attack at night would be more likely to succeed, but in the darkness, how could anyone on the city wall determine their identities?
If the city guards really dare not open the city gates, then their exhausted army will certainly be blocked by the Tartars.
However, the timing was extremely tricky. Wang Deren's troops had just returned to the camp for a while when they followed closely.

Faced with the sudden attack of the Ming army, the Qing army was caught off guard.

Under such circumstances, the troops of Hu and Zhang were unable to escape until their scouts were four or five miles away. By the time they launched an attack on the Qing army camp, the Tartars had barely formed a battle formation.

What happened next was naturally within their expectations. The Qing army's camp wall made of wooden stakes could not hold out for long in the face of the various battle axes of the Dong people.

But after they broke into the Qing army camp, the expected bloody battle did not occur.

Not only did the Qing army not fight to the death to intercept, but they also collapsed at the first touch.

By this time, both Hu Maozhen and Zhang An had realized something was wrong, but half of their men had already entered the Qing army camp.

Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire waiting ahead, they have no choice but to charge forward. Otherwise, if they show the slightest intention of retreating, they will be annihilated in defeat.

"You go forward! I'll cover your rear!"

Hu Maozhen, who was riding on a warhorse, shouted loudly before he reached Zhang An.

At this time, the infantry had already cleared the way ahead, and the soldiers rushing in the front were all cavalry.

Under such circumstances, let alone whether Zhang An, who always fought on foot, could catch up, even if he really caught up, how could he command Hu Maozhen's troops?

"You go! We can't catch up!"

Zhang An knocked down a Qing soldier with one hand and shouted to Hu Maozhen without even looking at him.

The battle had come to this point, and he naturally understood that he had most likely fallen into his opponent's trap, but now both of them were tied to the same rope.

There is no other way to survive except to try his best to kill his way through the Qing army camp. Even if he wants to fight with them, he has to endure it. How could he cause trouble at this juncture?

"Okay! I'll keep my word. I'll come back to support you after we've defeated the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Maozhen rode his horse to chase after his cavalry, but during the process he couldn't help but look back at Zhang An's situation, and it was obvious that he felt guilty.

But he was a man who had been fighting for most of his life, and he knew that he needed to concentrate at such moments. By the time he caught up with the cavalry in front, most of the other emotions in his heart had dissipated, and all that remained was how to kill his way through the Qing army camp.

"Turn!"

After running about a hundred steps along the main road in the camp, Hu Maozhen saw a line of defense composed of chevaux de frise and roadblocks. He shouted loudly and led his horse into the fork in the road.

Having been a cavalry general for half his life, he certainly knew that there was no way his own men could break through the enemy lines, but at the same time he also understood the Qing army's deployment.

The camp was suddenly attacked, and anyone would try to find a way to keep the enemy out of the camp.

However, Ajige not only did not make such a step-by-step choice, but instead used a defense that was light on the outside and heavy on the inside to lure the attacking enemy into the pocket formed by the large camp.

If it weren't for extremely rich experience, how could it be possible to come up with this strategy in such a short time?

We can only compete in speed.

With this in mind, the warhorse under Hu Maozhen's crotch immediately sped up.

He didn't believe that there were enough chevaux de frise and roadblocks in the Qing army camp, nor did he believe that the Qing army could block all the roads in the camp in such a short time.

After all, they arrived too quickly.

Only four or five incense sticks of time had passed since the enemy scouts escaped. Even though Ajige was able to command his army with ease, there were bound to be omissions.

What he has to do now is to find it in the shortest time possible.

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"Your Highness is very smart. This Ming army actually wants to enter the city."

Perhaps because Hu Maozhen's attention was all focused on the chevaux de frise and roadblocks, he failed to notice that there were several figures on war horses behind the defense line. After he led his cavalry into the fork in the road, Wang Deren flattered Ajige harshly.

"The mountains in southern Jiangxi are high and the water is deep. We can't find food, and neither can they. I don't think they can hold on for so many days."

Ajige said it calmly, but the generals beside him could not say so. What's more, his strategy was indeed brilliant. Not only could it kill the bugs that had been bothering them for many days, but it could also undermine the morale of the Ming army in the city. So as soon as he finished speaking, a burst of flattery was heard.

"That group of Ming soldiers might still want to find a way out, but they don't know that the prince has anticipated the enemy's moves and has already made arrangements. Today, our camp will be their burial place."

"That's right, that's right. The prince has his own rules for setting up camp. They are bumping into each other and trying to find an opening, but they don't know that in the end they will only be surrounded by tents and barricades."

"Your Highness, there seem to be quite a few Ming troops on the city wall watching from the imperial camp. Why not wipe out this group of Ming troops and then take Ganzhou in one fell swoop?"

(End of this chapter)