Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

When the Hongguang court was first established, the situation was turbulent and unpredictable. Li Zicheng's Dashun Army occupied the Hubei prefectures of Xiangyang, Jingzhou, De'an, and Chengtian in the west, while advancing eastward into the Huai River basin, threatening to sweep across the region and posing a formidable threat to the Southern Ming regime.

Shi Kefa, Ma Shiying and other important officials of the Southern Ming Dynasty judged the situation and, in response to the severe military situation at the time, made a strategic deployment to control the area from Wuchang to Nanzhili, attempting to build a solid line of defense to resist the attack of the Dashun Army and protect the territory of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

However, as the Qing troops occupied the capital and its surrounding areas with tremendous force, the Dashun Army had no choice but to retreat westward. The situation in the country changed dramatically in an instant, as if a huge rock was thrown into a calm lake, causing thousands of waves.

After the Dashun Army retreated westward, the local regimes that Li Zicheng had meticulously established in Shandong, Hebei, and other regions began to crumble, falling prey to the Ming Dynasty's officials and gentry. These officials and gentry, reminiscent of their former masters, seized the opportunity presented by the Dashun Army's departure to quickly organize forces and launch rebellions, attempting to restore Ming rule and order, plunging these regions into chaos and turmoil.

After the Qing army occupied the area near Beijing, the Manchu nobles, led by Dorgon, issued the first "hair-cutting order," requiring all officials and civilians to shave their heads as a sign of submission to the Qing court. This policy, like a sharp sword, pierced the hearts of residents near the capital, filling them with a sense of dread and doom. Filled with righteous indignation, many local residents rose up in rebellion against the Qing court's brutal rule. Refusing to submit to the Qing court's oppressive policies, they defended their dignity and traditions with their blood and lives.

There were thousands of thieves in Sanhe, Changping, Liangxiang, Wanping, Daxing, Bazhou, Dong'an, Wuqing, Xianxian, Tianjin and other places. They took advantage of the chaos and plundered everywhere, causing chaos in the areas near the capital. Even the Xishan coal used by the capital could not be transported into the city due to road blockages, and the normal operation of the capital was seriously affected.

Rumors circulated throughout the capital, stoking panic. Rumors spread that the Qing army was about to massacre the people, signaling a horrific disaster was imminent. Despite repeated attempts by Dorgon and other Qing rulers to reassure the people, the public panic proved difficult to quell. Meanwhile, the Qing government dispatched troops and generals to brutally suppress the rebellions. Under the wheel of the imperial court, captured bandits, young and old, were brought to justice, even those too old and young to wield a bow or a sword. Their brutality was appalling, casting a shadow of blood and terror over the area surrounding the capital.

Amidst this turbulent situation, the Qing court itself faced numerous difficulties, requiring time to stabilize its rule in the capital region and build up its military strength. The Dashun Army, however, held Shanxi like a solid barrier, and the Qing court hesitated to send its main forces south, fearing they would be attacked from both sides.

As a result, the southern part of the Jinan region, Shandong province, and eastern Henan province were in a near power vacuum for two or three months, becoming a no-man's land. All forces were ready to move, and the situation was delicate and complicated.

Under the delicate situation of three-party confrontation, the Dashun regime was no longer able to look eastward, and its sphere of influence shrank rapidly. This vast area naturally became the focus of fierce competition between the Southern Ming and the Qing.

This situation should have been a godsend and extremely advantageous for the Hongguang court. Officials and gentry in southern Jin, Shandong, and Henan provinces were rebelling against the local Dashun regime, all under the banner of restoring the Ming dynasty, their allegiance to the Ming court evident. The Hongguang court should have seized this opportunity and decisively marched north, expanding its territories as much as possible and reintegrating these regions into Ming territory. This would have effectively prevented the Qing army from advancing southward, building a solid line of defense with its vast territory and abundant human and material resources. It would also have been a path to self-strengthening, reviving the Ming's prestige, boosting the morale and confidence of the military and civilians, and laying a solid foundation for the stability and development of the Southern Ming regime.

However, what is heartbreaking is that important officials of the Hongguang court, such as Shi Kefa and Ma Shiying, were like cowardly turtles, hesitating to move forward and staying in the south of the Yangtze River, thus missing out on good opportunities.

The reasons for this were, firstly, that since the end of the Wanli reign, the Ming court had suffered repeated devastating defeats in its protracted campaigns against the Manchu nobles, leaving it deeply weakened and shrouded in a shadow. Even before the battle began, the Hongguang court, already timid and fearful of the enemy, resembled a frightened bird, losing its courage and fighting spirit. Secondly, the so-called Four Jiangbei Garrisons, while seemingly numerous and well-equipped, were in reality weak and utterly ineffective. Generals like Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing were defeated generals who had fled at the first sign of the Dashun Army. How could such cowards dare to confront the ferocious Qing army? This fear of the enemy rendered the Hongguang court ineffective in military action, forcing it to watch helplessly as a golden opportunity slipped away.

Another crucial reason was that almost everyone in the Hongguang court was immersed in an illusory dream, trying to borrow the military force of the Manchu nobles to wipe out the bandits.

The absurd strategy of "allying with the enemy to suppress the bandits" was arguably the foundational foreign policy of the Hongguang court. Of course, this policy wasn't new. As early as the Chongzhen reign, Yang Sichang, then Minister of War, had proposed "pacifying the interior before resisting foreign aggression." He proposed reaching a peace agreement with the Qing, whereby the Qing would annually send silver, satin, and other goods, in exchange for small amounts of ginseng, mink fur, and other goods under the guise of trade, and then concentrate its military forces to eliminate the bandits. However, during the Hongguang reign, some took this even further, proposing "allying with the enemy to suppress the bandits," imagining that through peace talks, they could use the Qing court's hand to eliminate the Dashun regime and reap the benefits.

Even the Hongguang court considered Wu Sangui's surrender to the Qing, the allied forces' defeat of the Dashun army, and the capture of Beijing as a righteous act of "serving the country and the people" by using Qing troops to defeat the "chuang thieves" and recapture the capital. Wu Sangui's act of inviting a wolf into the house was actually considered a great pleasure by the decision-making ministers of the Hongguang court. They all advocated contacting Wu Sangui as soon as possible to borrow the power of the Qing army to jointly eliminate the bandits, completely ignoring the serious consequences that this move would bring. It was like drinking poison to quench thirst and digging one's own grave.

The Hongguang Dynasty eventually established the "Northern Mission". If Chongzhen had not captured Nanjing in time and changed the situation, the Northern Mission would probably have already gone north.

However, although the Hongguang court was so unambitious, the Qing court did not easily give up this great opportunity.

On May 25, the Qing court sent Fang Dayou, a Ming surrendered minister, as deputy military supervisor to pacify Shandong, in an attempt to use conciliatory means to pacify the situation in Shandong and incorporate it into the Qing court's territory.

On the fourth day of June, Wang Aoyong, a Ming surrendered minister, was sent in the name of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Works to pacify Shandong and Henan, taking a two-pronged approach to strengthen control over the region.

On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, Dorgon dispatched Gushan Ezhenjue Luobahana and Shi Tingzhu to lead troops to retake Shandong, using force to intimidate and force the various regions of Shandong to surrender. Simultaneously, he issued a proclamation in the name of Wu Sangui, the King of Pingxi, stating that to appease the remaining people, "The Regent has selected hundreds of thousands of brave soldiers to march south, urging Shandong and other areas to surrender swiftly," attempting to psychologically undermine the Shandong people's will to resist.

On June 21, the Qing army led by Bahana and others arrived at Dezhou, and they were unstoppable all the way. A large number of counties and cities in Jinan and Shandong were handed over to the Qing Dynasty under the attack of the Qing army. The Southern Ming regime lost a large amount of territory, and the situation became increasingly critical.

The Qing army ordered to take over Shandong not only had limited manpower, but also because the Qing court was well aware that its real opponent was the Dashun Army, so after Juelu Bahana and Shi Tingzhu reported on June 29 that they had pacified Bazhou, Cangzhou, Dezhou, and Linqing, Dorgon did not ask them to continue south. Instead, on July 3, he ordered Juelu Bahana and Shi Tingzhu's troops to be transferred to Shanxi to join forces with Ye Chen's troops to attack the Dashun Army in Taiyuan and other places, concentrating their forces to deal with the main threat of the Dashun Army.

Even so, until August, many places in Shandong were still unwilling to submit to the Qing Dynasty. For example, Xintai County, which was only 300 miles away from the provincial capital of Jinan, refused the surrender of Wang Aoyong and Fang Dayou six times under the insistence of Zhou Zuoding, the county magistrate appointed by the Dashun regime, demonstrating a tenacious spirit of resistance.

However, despite the anti-Qing uprisings of the people across Shandong Province, which rose and fell one after another, like a spark that quickly spread like wildfire, these were all spontaneous struggles and never received any support from the Hongguang court. The Hongguang court's inaction left these people struggling in isolation and hardship, like a walker groping alone in the dark, with no glimmer of hope in sight.

However, as the Qing court gradually took over, its control over these areas gradually solidified, like a large net that gradually tightened, tightly enveloping these areas. And those patriots who had high hopes for the Ming court gradually despaired. They looked at the Southern Ming court's inaction, and the flames of hope in their hearts gradually extinguished. If this continued, these areas would soon be controlled by the Qing court. Once the Qing court actually controlled these areas, it would be extremely difficult to retake them, just like a treasure that has fallen into the hands of others. If you want to retake it, you will have to pay a heavy price. Therefore, the struggle for these areas is imminent and urgent. It is like a race against time. The Southern Ming regime must act quickly, otherwise it will be too late to regret.

Fortunately, most of the Qing troops ordered to recover Shandong were transferred to Shanxi at this time. Now, there are only some scattered soldiers temporarily assembled by Wang Aoyong and Fang Dayou in Shandong. Their troops are weak, like a group of mobs. Not only are their combat effectiveness weak, but their number is only a few thousand, making it difficult to form a strong deterrent.

Therefore, if a team of elite soldiers could be dispatched at this time, while the people's hearts were still strong, it would be like seizing the last opportunity before the storm hits, and Shandong could still be recaptured. However, time must be seized, and every second counts. Otherwise, the opportunity will be gone, and the Southern Ming regime will never be able to recover.