Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 321 Last resort

A general needs to weigh many things.

But how can it be easy to weigh all these things?
If we limit our focus to Ganzhou, Ajige's attempt to capture the city can be considered mediocre, while Shang Kexi's preparation to break out can be considered excellent.

After all, there are too many variables in something like capturing a city.

Not to mention whether he could successfully open the city gate, even if he wanted to control the city after opening the city gate, he would still have to pay a considerable price.

In comparison, Shang Kexi's response with less variables can naturally be called the best strategy.

If we raise our sights a little higher and include the whole of Jiangxi, then the evaluation of Ajige's strategy will be slightly higher.

After all, it was only half a month since Ganzhou was besieged.

It was already incredibly fast that the Ming army appeared here in such a short time. How did they get the time to attack the cities in Jiangxi?
Based on this, after breaking out, we will retreat north to Ji'an, but if we can capture Ganzhou, why can't we hold on and wait for help?

As for food
Under such circumstances, Ajige naturally had no time to transport the grain and fodder stored in the camp into the city, but how could the stored grain in Ganzhou City be burned in one or two hours?
At this point, it seems that there is not much difference between breaking out and capturing the city. It is indeed a bit hysterical that Ajige would rather take a greater risk than breaking out and choose to capture Ganzhou.

But if we raise our attention to the overall situation of the Ming-Qing dispute
Although breaking out could prevent the entire army from being annihilated at the moment, the Ming navy had already entered the Poyang Lake water system.

Even if the Qing army in Jiangxi struggled again, the best result would be like Duoduo's, where they would withdraw their main force back to Jiangbei at the cost of more casualties.

In comparison, a counterattack on Ganzhou would naturally involve considerable risks, and the losses might even be far greater than a breakout in the attempt to buy time.

But if we can really hold out in this city and wait for help, then in theory there is always a chance of turning the tide of the battle.

Of course, this glimmer of hope is extremely slim.

Not only did it require the Qing army in Jiangxi to respond quickly and rush to Ganzhou in the shortest possible time, but it also had to avoid the influence of the Ming army's navy as much as possible during the actual combat.

Ajige was well aware of this, and he also realized that any mistake would lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

just
They brothers can no longer afford defeat, and the Qing Dynasty can no longer afford defeat.

On the surface, the previous defeat in Jiangnan did not cause much waves.

Apart from some power changes among the Manchu upper echelons, the rest of the places continued to attack as they should and defend as they should, and did not seem to take this setback as a big deal.

This is not surprising. After all, since entering the Pass, the Manchus have been killing people everywhere under the leadership of Dorgon.

Even though their power base was far from solid and the Manchu rule was only just beginning, the internal opposition forces and those who had second thoughts would not be so foolish as to tear their faces off just after losing a battle.

Given Ajige's temperament, he would never have thought of this.

But over the past few months, the brothers have been exchanging letters with each other.

With the advice of Dorgon and Dodo, he not only understood the undercurrents hidden beneath the calm, but also understood the consequences if he lost this time.

In essence, Dorgon's control of the highest power in the Qing court was the result of compromise among all parties, and the Manchus' ability to dominate the powerful was a forced choice for local forces.

Once the Dorgon brothers could no longer seize land and people for the Manchu nobles, the Qing court's momentum to sweep across the country was curbed.

Then both the internal conflicts among the Manchus and the ethnic issues within the Qing court would erupt completely in a short period of time.

By then, let alone whether Dorgon was able to appease his brothers and nephews, the successive rebellions would be enough to make the Qing court overwhelmed.

Under such circumstances, choosing to break out would mean a last-ditch effort, while attacking Ganzhou again would still give them a chance.

How could a general like Ajige, who had won for twenty years, choose to break out?

This is how history is. If we cannot put ourselves in the shoes of historical figures, many of their choices will appear crazy and unreasonable in the eyes of future generations.

But if you really understand the situation of historical figures from between the lines, I think you can only see three words: "helpless".

Zhu Cilang had no choice but to give up on his strategy of advancing step by step and choose to attack Ganzhou directly; Ajige had no choice but to give up on his plan of breaking out from the siege and choose to attack Ganzhou again.

To put it bluntly, individuals are just going with the flow in the face of the general trend. It is already difficult to do their best to follow the trend, so how can it be possible?——
"The Qing army attacked the city?!"

"Yes, according to the report from the general, after he found General Hu, he discovered that a group of Qing troops were heading straight for Ganzhou, and he had already led his troops to follow them."

At this time, almost half an hour had passed since Zhu Cilang made various arrangements. During this period, various military intelligence orders were sent by scouts, but this was the only one that made him think carefully.

When Zhu Cilang first heard the report from the soldiers, he was naturally surprised, but he had a deep understanding of the situations of both the Ming and Qing dynasties, and after thinking about it for a while, he could taste the meaning of it.

Just a death struggle.

At this time, the Ming and Qing armies were fighting fiercely. A group of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was considered Wan Yuanji's dereliction of duty if they could successfully get to the city. How could they pose any threat to Ganzhou?
"How many troops did Xiang Rensheng bring?"

"The scouts didn't say anything, but it seems the Qing army doesn't have many men. With General Xiang's ability, Ganzhou should be safe."

In the eyes of this soldier, His Majesty asked this question because he was worried about the safety of Ganzhou, but he had no idea that His Majesty's attention had already been focused on the Qing army camp.

In his previous arrangements, although the first two echelons of troops had their own tasks, their fundamental purpose was to contain the Qing army so that Xiang Rensheng could successfully rescue the friendly troops trapped in the enemy camp.

This is understandable.

No matter what, as long as he could lead the navy to Ganzhou smoothly, he would have gained an absolute strategic advantage. There was no need for him to reveal all his cards tonight and fight the Tartars.

But he didn't expect Ajige to be so resolute.

Not only did the Qing army show no signs of withdrawing its troops and abandoning the siege of Ganzhou, they even seemed to be planning to attack Ganzhou again.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Cilang naturally had to make some adjustments.

“Send a message to Fang Guoan and Hou Chengzu, ordering them to attack the enemy camps to the east and south with all their strength;

Send a message to Fang Yuanke and Hou Shilu, ordering them to patrol the periphery. If they encounter Qing troops fleeing north, they do not need to fight, but if they encounter them heading towards the Qing army's northern camp, they must be defeated."

After hearing the words, the soldier planned to go out and pass the order, but when he was about to stand up, he saw that His Majesty seemed to be still thinking, so he stopped again.

"Send a message to Hu Maozhen and Zhang An, and tell them to gather their troops and wait."

Having said this, Zhu Cilang paused.

The purpose of his order was very clear, which was to exert enough pressure in several other places to force the Qing army to choose to flee north.

It's just a tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side.

Since you, Ajige, want to fight hard tonight, let your troops retreat on their own first.

The left and right naval forces have already entered the Poyang Lake water system. Even if some of them escape, it is impossible to have a fundamental impact on the situation in Jiangxi, and it can reduce their own losses.

However, Zhu Cilang's plan had to face different choices at this stage. Should he pursue him at night or let him go and then slowly make plans after stabilizing Ganzhou?

According to his original intention, he wanted to pursue the enemy at night.

After all, his fundamental principle along the way was to buy time so that he could focus his energy on the red-haired guy as quickly as possible.

If we allow the Qing army to flee northward without pursuing them, it will take even longer to completely retaliate in Jiangxi.

But the only cavalry he had was Hu Maozhen's unit.

Although Zhu Cilang knew that the Hu and Zhang armies had escaped at this time, he had no idea about their specific situation.

In this situation, if we order him to pursue.
"After gathering the troops, let Hu Maozhen decide whether to pursue the enemy."

"Order."

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldier took the order and left, and Zhu Cilang was the only one left in the cabin.

He was not used to this kind of situation of waiting in the back, but this battle was related to the national destiny of both Ming and Qing dynasties, so even if he wanted to go to the front to check, he had to think carefully.

What's more, the fact that the coach can be leisurely in the back means that he played well in the front. If it is really like the first time when there were many crises and he was in danger of losing his life at any time, even if he wanted to do so, he would probably have to go to the battlefield in person with a knife.

As the two warring parties, Zhu Cilang was at ease here, but the situation was naturally another matter for Shang Kexi.

After Ajige left, the command of the entire camp fell on him. However, the east, west and south sides were in chaos due to artillery fire. When the artillery fire gradually died down, a large number of Ming troops took advantage of the chaos to attack.

Under such circumstances, generals could not find their soldiers, and soldiers could not find their generals. Occasionally, a few lucky ones were targeted by the Ming army as soon as they formed a formation.

As a result, it is difficult for his command to play a big role.

However, this does not mean that Shang Kexi can do nothing.

Although he did not withdraw the troops from the East, West and South camps as he had originally intended, he did not punish those who had been trapped by him.

After all, Ganzhou City is surrounded by the Gan River. Even if the Ming army’s naval artillery fire cannot cover all of their own camps, there are very few places that can escape the attack.

If he still criticized the generals and soldiers harshly under such circumstances, who knows if anyone would imitate Hu Maozhen's story?
"Your Majesty, this is not a solution. If we wait until dawn and the Ming army cuts off the road back to Ji'an, then we..."

"Don't make any noise!"

Wang Deren had only said half of his words when Shang Kexi interrupted him.

If it were an ordinary time, he would keep quiet and wouldn't even appear here.

But the battle had gotten to this point, and they had no power to fight back under the Ming army's artillery attack. If they remained stuck here, wouldn't they be waiting to die?

"Your Majesty, it's not that I want to disobey military orders. It's just that most of Jiangxi's troops are in Ganzhou. If they are all trapped here, I'm afraid the whole of Jiangxi will be in danger!"

How could Shang Kexi not understand what Wang Deren said?

For this battle, the imperial court not only mobilized all the troops in Jiangxi, but also drew a lot of troops from Jiangbei.

If all of their troops were trapped in Ganzhou, Jin Shenghuan's troops, who had lost external support, would probably not have a good ending.

By then, not to mention Jiangxi, even Hankou and Xiangyang would probably fall into the hands of the Ming army.

But we have to wait for news from Ajige.

"Prince Ying and I have already made a plan. You just need to follow the military orders. If you make any more noise, beware of my military law!"

After the words fell, Wang Deren didn't dare to say anything else. But when he retreated to the back timidly, he heard Shang Kexi's voice again.

"I know you are worried about the overall situation, but Prince Ying has led his troops to attack Ganzhou City. If we succeed, it will be our chance to turn defeat into victory. Don't you want to make this unparalleled achievement?"

After hearing these words, Wang Deren felt helpless.

Everyone wants to achieve unparalleled feats, but in the past half month, the army has not been able to capture the city even with the help of equipment. How can they succeed now with manpower alone?
"That's what I thought."

"If you want, just wait patiently. If things are impossible, I will take you away."

After temporarily suppressing Wang Deren, Shang Kexi breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze towards the direction of Ganzhou.

Ajige had been gone for quite a while. Regardless of whether he succeeded or not, he should have sent someone to report. But now, not only has no one come yet, there seems to be no movement in the city either.

This kind of situation——
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! We are sent by His Majesty to help defend the city!"

After night fell, apart from the ever-expanding flames that could be seen on Ganzhou City, no one knew the extent of the battle.

Wan Yuanji was a little anxious about this situation, but he knew very well that Ganzhou was the key to everything, and if it was missed, the situation would be ruined.

So after Zhao Yinxuan left, he gave orders, ordering all the generals to guard the city strictly and not to be negligent in the slightest.

Normally speaking, his order was somewhat redundant.

On the one hand, their own camp was under attack, and no one would attack the city without the help of equipment; on the other hand, the battle outside the city was raging, and the soldiers in the city would be more alert than usual.

But who would have thought that just as the generals and soldiers on the city wall focused their attention on the ever-expanding flames, a loud shout suddenly came from under the city wall.

No one is allowed to enter the city at night. This is a principle that every city defender must follow. However, the other party is using the name of His Majesty, so Wan Yuanji cannot refuse rashly.

Therefore, after a brief thought, he asked the people below the city: "Which general's subordinates are you?"

"So that the general knows, we are the guards of the general's central army."

The reputation of the Central Guard Army is terrifyingly great, and it seems reasonable that he was ordered by His Majesty to come and strengthen the defense of Ganzhou. However, Wan Yuanji is not good at military strategy, but it does not mean that he is reckless.

After hearing the answer from the people outside the city, he just pretended to agree and did not really let the people into the city.

"Hey, commander! We are here under the orders of the Emperor, but you keep making excuses. If the city is lost, how many heads do you have left to chop off?!"

The general at the foot of the city spoke as he took a few steps toward the city wall.

But when Wan Yuanji was about to say something else, he faintly saw the man's arm move, and then he heard a sound of breaking air into his ears.

"puff!"

"Supervisor!"

"Enemy attack!"

(End of this chapter)