Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 375: I Think It's Simple
Guangyuan is located between two mountains, with the Jialing River and several tributaries running through it, as well as countless large and small hills dotting it.

Although terrain like this cannot hide a large group of people, it is not surprising at all to see three or two hundred people suddenly appearing.

Therefore, when the Qing army scouts were searching the surroundings according to Hauge's orders, they were so thorough that they almost searched every hill.

But there are more places to hide in Daba Mountains.

In a ravine just across a mountain from the Qing army camp, the elite troops of the Dashi Army, led by Ai Nengqi himself, were quietly waiting for the scheduled time to arrive.

"how?"

"Reporting to the general, General Anxi has returned to the city."

After asking the scout who came running back, Ai Nengqi finally felt relieved.

He was Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son and General Dingbei of Dashi. In terms of status alone, he was second only to the emperor and above everyone else.

But compared with the other three, his shortcomings seemed particularly glaring.

In the original history, Ai Nengqi personally led his troops to besiege the Zhenglan Banner of the Qing Army in the Battle of Phoenix Mountain, and shot and killed the Qing Army's lieutenant commander Gebuku.

Later, Zhang Xianzhong died unexpectedly, and the Dashi Army had to retreat southward. However, he shot and killed Sun Kewang, who was surrounding by Zeng Ying, thus preventing the Dashi Army from suffering huge losses.

Later, the four adopted sons, realizing the unstable morale of the army, were ready to use Wang Zhaoling's head to calm the people. It was he who took the initiative to step forward and kill this Dongke Grand Secretary of Dashi. The remaining Dashi Army, which had already shown signs of disintegration, was finally united again.

It is clear from all these incidents that Ai Nengqi is quite brave and upright, but such characteristics are not necessarily good things for a person standing at the pinnacle of power.

However, it may also be that God could not bear to let such a person see his former brothers become enemies, so he let him die from a poisonous arrow on his way south, which can be regarded as another kind of relief.

Of course, this all happened several years later.

At this time, Ai Nengqi had already sneaked to the designated position under the cover of Sun Kewang. As soon as the time came, he would launch a real attack on the Qing army according to the original plan.

"Any news from General Funan?"

Faced with the questioning of his general, the soldier remained silent. After saying this, Ai Nengqi seemed to realize something and then waved his hand to let the soldier retreat.

When the Qing army first arrived in Guangyuan, the Dashi Army's defensive fortifications were outside the mountain pass, while the Qing army's main camp was located inside the mountain pass.

Later, as one fort after another was destroyed, the Qing army's camp was gradually built to the edge of the mountain pass.

Such a position would certainly allow the Dashi Army to block the Qing Army, but from another perspective, the Qing Army only needed to guard the outermost camps to ensure the safety of the rear.

Therefore, Hauge placed his most elite guards at that location and used this as a support to complete simple defensive fortifications.

Obviously, such an arrangement protected the Qing army camp very well. Even when facing the elite troops of the Dashi who were several times larger than themselves and the belated reinforcements, the Bordered Yellow Banner Guards still managed to hold on.

But if Hauge could think of the benefits of such an arrangement, how could Zhang Xianzhong and Sun Kewang not think of it?
Therefore, how to avoid the Qing army's tortoise shell became a problem that the Dashi Army could not avoid.

If the Qing army camp moved further into the mountain pass, this would be an unsolvable problem.

After all, the road to Shu is harder than climbing to the sky, and with the mountains as a barrier, if the Dashi Army wants to attack the Qing army’s main camp directly, they can only attack them one camp at a time.

But at this time, the Qing army moved to the edge of the mountain range because the fort was destroyed. The height of the surrounding mountains was no longer as high as that inside. Even though Hauge had sent out many scouts and scouts, he still exposed a flaw.

This is another manifestation of geographical advantage.

The Qing army that came from afar was able to grasp all the situations within two or three miles of the camp, but faced with the complex terrain of mountains and rivers in Shu, their limit could only reach this level.

When Sun Kewang attacked the Bordered Yellow Banner Guards camp head-on, the surrounding Qing scouts would naturally flock to the place where the battle was taking place like insects seeing the light.

Ai Qineng and Liu Wenxiu took advantage of this gap to penetrate into the valleys on both sides of the mountain pass.

"General, it's all right. We haven't even encountered any Tartar scouts. The situation at General Funan's place is probably the same."

"Well, a plan that can be expected to be made is naturally the most stable."

When he heard the general beside him speaking to comfort him, Ai Nengqi smiled and replied.

But at this moment, his heart was not as he showed on his face.

This battle was too crucial. If they could repel the Qing army with minimal losses, then it would be convenient for them to either directly go to war with the Ming army or negotiate with it.

After all, having enough power in your hands is equivalent to having enough chips.

But if this battle cannot achieve the original goal, then they, the Great Western people, can only continue to waste time here. After their energy and blood are exhausted, who can guarantee that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will still be as kind as before and will not show his sharp fangs?

No matter what, Dashi is now in an extremely passive situation. Even if the Ming army behind it remains inactive, as long as both sides suffer losses, the Ming emperor will not miss this great opportunity to recover Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Time passed bit by bit in Ai Nengqi's thoughts. When the cold mountain wind blew again, the moon in the sky was almost completely blocked by the surrounding mountains.

"Send the message, have the brothers get up and move around. We will set out in one stick of incense to see if the Tartars are asleep."

As Ai Nengqi's military order was issued, the elite troops of the Dashi Army, who had been waiting in the mountains and forests for half the night, immediately took action.

According to Sun Kewang's guess, the Qing army was still on full alert in the first few hours after being attacked.

But if more time passes, after the soldiers change shifts, those soldiers who did not get a good rest in the first half of the night may not be able to fully carry out the military orders from above.

This is the difference between generals like Sun Kewang who rose from the bottom of society and dignitaries like Hauge.

He knew that military orders were one thing and execution was another.

If every order handed down from above can be executed without compromise, then what is the point of having extremely strict military laws?
Sun Kewang's guess was correct. Although the Qing army generals had already issued orders to be on full alert, the soldiers on duty were still extremely sleepy due to their physical instincts.

"Old Three, keep your eyes on me for a while. I'll take a nap for a while."

In a camp located inside the mountain path, an older soldier just said one sentence to his partner beside him and then curled up and sat on the ground.

"Brother Zhuzi, don't sleep. If the higher-ups see this, you'll be punished by military law."

"It's okay. When have you ever seen an official patrolling at this time?" The soldier called Brother Zhuzi replied nonchalantly and closed his eyes. But who would have thought that before he could adjust his posture, the voice of the third brother came again.

"You fell asleep, what should I do?" The third brother said with some annoyance, and wanted to reach out and pull the other person up from the ground, but at the same time he seemed to think of something, and when he stopped his hand, he sighed: "Alas~~~~, I have been out for more than a year, and I don't know what's going on at home."

He thought clearly that Brother Zhuzi had an impatient temper and if he used forceful tactics, conflicts would be inevitable. It would be safer to talk about topics that the other party was interested in and directly dispel his sleepiness.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking, Brother Zhuzi opened his eyes again.

Even if the other party did not respond, anyone who saw it would know that this sentence piqued his interest.

Seeing this, the third brother felt a little proud in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.

After all, he was an outsider who fled from Liaodong to Liaoxi, and he joined the army just to make a living by relying on his strength.

Although the third brother has gained a foothold in the army over the years, which family would marry their daughter to a man like him?
The so-called "home" was actually just a dilapidated thatched house.

But this Brother Zhuzi is completely different. He is a native of western Liaoning.

Before the Marshal surrendered to the Tartars, he not only had a wife, but also had children. Naturally, these two words in the family had a much greater influence on him than the third child.

"Brother Zhuzi, I heard that the Marshal surrendered to the Tartars because his wife was robbed by bandits?"

"What a useless wife! She's just a concubine."

"You surrendered for a concubine?"

"Nonsense! How can our Marshal be such a person?" After hearing what the third brother said, Zhuzi brother immediately snorted. After that, he thought for a moment and told the truth he heard from his relatives: "Our Marshal surrendered to the Tartars to avenge the emperor."

The marshal they were referring to was naturally Wu Sangui, who commanded the Guanning Army.

After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, Marshal Wu immediately spread his explanation for this behavior to the army.

According to what he said, his emperor and his father died because of the rebels, and as a person who was favored by the emperor in this world, he should be irreconcilable with the rebels out of both emotion and reason. However, he was outnumbered and could not be a match for the rebels who were in their heyday, so he had to seek help from the foreign enemy under the pressure of the situation.

Although the explanation was given, it did not spread much in the military.

People like Brother Zhuzi who have numerous connections in the local area know a little about it, but people like Lao San who just make a living don't care at all.

After all, the emperor was dead and that was it. Not only did his third son's salary not decrease, but the Tartars even paid back all the money they owed him.

If he hadn't intended to disturb Brother Zhuzi's sleep, he wouldn't have cared why the Marshal surrendered to the Tartars.

The third brother's plan was quite effective. At this moment, Brother Zhuzi was so concerned about his family that he couldn't even feel sleepy.
"You go to sleep, I'll take your turn later."

"Okay, I'll take a nap then."

After replying nonchalantly, the third brother closed his eyes. No one knew how sleepy he was. Before Brother Zhuzi could respond, a slight snoring sound came from his nose.

Faced with this situation, Brother Zhuzi was quite helpless. He then found a more comfortable position and leaned against the fence of the camp, but his mind had drifted to his home thousands of miles away.

The troops under Hauge were of mixed composition. Except for the newly joined rebel army, this kind of sentiment was actually prevalent among all the tribes.

But so what?

Generals need to use military achievements to consolidate their positions in the new dynasty, and commanders need to use victory as a bargaining chip in negotiations with political enemies.

What's more, the Tartars, who lived on looting, already had plenty of money. If you added what Li Zicheng squeezed out of Beijing, the pay the Tartars gave to ordinary soldiers could be considered generous.

Under such circumstances, even though the soldiers have been away from home for more than a year, the impact on morale is extremely limited, and the generals above will not have the slightest worry about it.

But this only applies to ordinary soldiers and generals. For people like Wu Sangui who have some warlord tendencies, it is a completely different situation.

"Marshal, it's getting late."

At this time, there were still lights on in the military tent in the middle of the camp. When Wu Sangui picked up the letter he had received a few days ago, the personal soldier standing beside him couldn't help but remind him.

If an ordinary person thought about it, the reason why he had not slept yet was probably because of the battle in the first half of the night. However, Wu Sangui had already received news from the central army camp and had already understood the plan of the Dashi Army.

Under such circumstances, even if he cared about the Qing Dynasty, he should have put aside his worries. How could he stay up until the second half of the night without going to bed?

"Alas~~~~, it is a time of turmoil, and the situation changes three times a day. How can I sleep well when I am worried about Guan Ning's future?"

As he spoke, he unfolded the letter that he had flipped through who knows how many times. Then he went over the contents that he had almost memorized by heart again, and the frown on his forehead deepened a little.

This letter came from his business partner. Although it only talked about some business matters, it also gave a general account of the war in the south using the secret language that was used when smuggling outside the Great Wall.

Of course, someone of Wu Sangui's status would know something about the death of Ajige in Ganzhou.

However, out of consideration for stabilizing people's hearts, the Qing government did not reveal any specific details of the war casualties and only reported a few people who could not be avoided.

Wu Sangui naturally had some doubts about this situation, but due to his status he could not inquire in the army. In the end he could only seek help from the businessmen who had done smuggling business with him in the past.

However, although those businessmen were able to establish connections with the upper echelons of the Qing court, even Wu Sangui's surrender to the Qing was facilitated by them.

But this is a different time. Now their existence is of no use to the Qing Dynasty. After all the trouble, they can only get some general information, but not much specific numbers.

If it were someone with a simpler mind, he would probably have just had some doubts in his heart, but Wu Sangui, who had been playing tricks on Beijing for so many years, was able to deduc from clues that the Eight Banners headquarters might have suffered heavy losses.

"Do you think I did anything wrong?"

As if he wanted to get some recognition from his personal soldiers, or as if he was just talking to himself, Wu Sangui muttered something while repacking the letter.

But that personal soldier was just a fierce fighter. How could he say anything that could appease Wu Sangui?

Perhaps God didn't want to see him in such a difficult situation. Just as the soldiers were still racking their brains, a scream suddenly came from inside.

"Enemy attack!"

(End of this chapter)