After capturing Nanchang and surrendering Zhu Tongqi, the king of Shicheng, Zhu Hengjia initially wanted to send a force of troops to cross the Yangtze River and advance into the Central Plains. But when he arrived on the other side of the river, Abatai was a veteran Manchu general and his defense was very tight.
The strength of the navy is about the same as that of the Qing army. It is not easy for a large army to cross the river. Secondly, even if it crosses the river, the terrain in the Central Plains is relatively flat, which is conducive to cavalry but not to infantry. The strength in hand is not enough to stand firm in the Central Plains.
p>
Therefore, Zhu Hengjia decided not to go north to Anhui or Henan for the time being. Instead, he first strongly supported King Shicheng and buried a nail in the Dabie Mountains. He also spared no expense to build warships and expand the Yangtze River Navy, increasing the number of the navy from seven thousand.
To 20,000, prepare for crossing the river in the future.
After finishing these tasks, Zhu Hengjia looked at the basket full of memorials in front of the imperial court and thought about it.
The ministers who wrote these memorials include senior ministers such as Shouzhen, Sun Jinding, Gu Yi, Yu Chaoxiang, Shi Qiwen, Yan Tianfeng, and Fan Youxian; there are also rising stars such as Chen Bangyan, Wang Fuzhi, and Qian Bingtao; and there are also Geng Jimao, Hui Zhiguan, etc.
The surrendered general.
The central content of the memorial is only one: Your Highness, you have conquered Wuchang and have made such great contributions. You should ascend the throne and proclaim yourself emperor as soon as possible to rectify people's hearts.
Sun Jinding, the second assistant to the cabinet, even shouted loudly in his memorial: "If His Highness does not proclaim himself emperor, what will happen to the world?"
Zhu Hengjia was very puzzled. Five years ago, when he was supervising the country, the whole world was scolding him, calling him a clown who was peeping at a magic weapon. How come it only took five years for him to be so popular?
A secret letter from his confidant Zheng Feng, a bachelor of Dongge University and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, woke him up.
There are only nine words in the secret letter: "Build the wall high, accumulate grain widely, and slowly become the king."
These nine words are the strategies for pacifying the world dedicated to Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang by the scholar Zhu Sheng.
After seeing these words, Zhu Hengjia suddenly realized that whether he wanted to be emperor or not was a lie. Anyway, he already had great power. The most important thing now is to accumulate strength. There is no need to provoke the Tartars prematurely. The matter of proclaiming emperor will be discussed after Nanjing is captured.
Right.
In addition to persuading Zhu Hengjia to postpone proclaiming himself emperor, Zheng Feng also suggested not to rush to the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, but to first go down the Yangtze River to capture Jiujiang Prefecture, and then wait for an opportunity to capture Nankang, Raozhou, and Guangde Prefectures in Jiangxi, and finally advance to the south.
From Zhili, go straight to Nanjing.
Nanjing is one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, with great political significance, and Jiangnan is the wealth center of the Qing Dynasty. Taking Jiangnan will definitely change the balance of power between the two sides.
This suggestion coincides with Zhu Hengjia.
He ordered the Duke of Xing, Li Chixin, the Marquis of Ying, Gao Bizheng, the Marquis of Jing, Yuan Zongdi, Lin Chengcheng, Li Laiheng and other generals to lead 50,000 troops from Nanchang and march north to attack Jianchang and De'an. He himself led an army of 120,000 troops.
Depart from Wuchang, go south via Daye and Xinguozhou, and capture Ruichang and Jiujiang.
He also ordered General Yan Zungao to stay in Wuchang; Duke Jin Shengheng of Yu, Wang Deren, Marquis of Jianwu, Liu Tichun, Marquis of Anhui, and Yang Fuchen, Marquis of Xingye, stayed in Nanchang.
The Ming army was massive and powerful, but Tan Tai was not afraid at all. Like Abatai, he was also a veteran Manchu general and was fifty-six years old this year.
A general who has been fighting for forty years has not experienced any hardships? Who in the Qing Dynasty does not know that all the Shumulus are heroes who are not afraid of death?
Shumulu Tantai showed the unique ferocity of the savage Jurchens and wanted to fight the Ming army in Jiujiang.
He ordered Jiangnan Governor Ma Guozhu, Kang Shisheng and other generals to garrison Raozhou Prefecture and Guangxin Prefecture to prevent the Ming army from Nanchang; Gushan Ezhenzhu Mala was stationed in Jianchang County and De'an County to block the Ming army Li Chixin's troops.
; He led the Manchurian troops with white flags on Gushan'e, Zhenhe Luohui, the Han army with yellow flags, the second-class Jingqi Nihafan, Liu Liangzuo, and other generals, to Jiujiang to fight against Zhu Hengjia.
Tan Tai led an army of 70,000, including 30,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry, and marched day and night to Jiujiang.
Jiujiang is "a place where many rivers gather". Nine rivers, including the Gan River, Po River, Yu River, Xiu River, Gan River, Xu River, Shu River, Nan River and Peng River, meet here.
The deputy commander of the Qing army lost his He Luo meeting, and became more and more uneasy as he walked. He rode his horse and came to Tan Tai.
"General, Jiujiang Prefecture has many rivers and water networks, which are very detrimental to our cavalry, but beneficial to the Ming army's infantry. Why did you choose this place to fight?"
Tan Tai smiled coldly: "Of course I know that the terrain here is good for the enemy but not good for me. But when the two armies are fighting, we can't just look at the terrain, but also consider morale. The Ming army has just conquered Wuchang, and its morale is strong; our army has not yet attacked Nanchang.
The morale is already low. If Jiujiang is abandoned without a fight, the morale will inevitably collapse. By then, the whole of Jiangxi, and even the south of the Yangtze River, may no longer be owned by the country!"
He Luohui secretly admired him after hearing this. The Shumulu clan was indeed ruthless. Even though they had fewer soldiers and horses than the Ming army and the terrain was unfavorable, they still dared to fight against the Ming army. If he had commanded this battle, he would not have considered morale and directly
Abandoned Jiujiang and retreated to the east of Poyang Lake.
"The general has great foresight, but in the end he falls short".
Tan Tai chuckled: "Don't worry, He Luohui. I'm not a fool. Before coming to Jiujiang, I had people figure out the terrain. There is a small plain in the middle of Jiujiang Prefecture with few rivers, which is suitable for cavalry operations. Let me tell you.
People have already prepared ships in Dehua County. If the war situation goes unfavorably, we can evacuate to the east of Poyang Lake at any time."
"The general's calmness in using troops is really like Sun Wu's style." This time He Luohui was completely convinced.
When the Qing army arrived at the chosen battlefield, the first thing they did was to set up camp and dig fortifications. This was Tan Tai's habit. No matter how tiring the march was, he would never hesitate to set up camp.
Lines of Qing troops felled trees, planted fences, dug trenches, and built ramparts. Inside the ramparts, large camps were nested within small camps, and military tents were dotted one after another. In order to facilitate the entry of the cavalry, the Qing army also prepared wooden planks.
, and they also densely covered the trench with iron caltrops to block horse guns and other objects, and also set up watchtowers and archery towers.
Zhu Hengjia's army rushed to Wuchang. It arrived late because there were too many. An army of 120,000 people covered the sky and the sun, and it was impossible to see the end.
When the Ming army rushed to the battlefield, they did not engage in battle and first set up camp.
In the past few days, both sides sent scouts to each other to conduct reconnaissance and testing. Except for small-scale outpost battles, no major battles occurred.
The day of decisive battle has finally arrived.
Tan Tai ordered his younger brother Tan Bu and his wife's brother Yuer Duo to each lead Liujia La and nine thousand cavalry on both wings. He led Liu Liangzuo and other generals and led 40,000 infantry in the central formation. He Luohui led 12,000 cavalry in the central formation. Before.
Zhu Hengjia ordered Li Dingguo to lead 30,000 troops for the front line, and Li Mingzhong and Bai Wenxuan to lead 20,000 troops each for the left and right wings. He led Zhao Yong, Li Chengjue, Gao Minggui, Ma Jinzhong, Qin Yuchun, and Yao Youxing, and led 50,000 troops for the middle army. /p>
Seeing that his own army outnumbered the Qing army, he waved his hand and said, "Attack!"
"Woo woo woo", "Dong dong dong!"
With the melodious horns and short marching drums, Li Dingguo, Li Mingzhong, and Bai Wenxuan led their troops to slowly attack the Qing army.
Tan Tai was unwilling to give up the initiative and ordered the cavalry to attack.
"Kill!"
He Luohui, Tan Bu, and Yue Erduo howled and killed the Ming army.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The artillery behind the Ming army's formation opened fire.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Qing army's artillery fired back.
Soldiers continued to fall, although not many, but the momentum was alarming. After a while, the two sides were in close combat, and the artillery stopped.
"Put the gun up!"
The officers and soldiers of the Ming army raised their spear heads and faced the Qing cavalry.
Shumulu Tanbu rides his horse and rushes to the front. This is the tradition of the Shumulu family. As a general, he charges in front and retreats in the back.
"Bang!"
The sword in Tan Bu's left hand cut off the tip of the spear, and the lance in his right hand plunged into the chest of the Ming army holding the gun.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The soldiers around him cut off the tips of their spears and thrust them inward.
"咴聿聿!"
An unlucky war horse was hit by a spear, and the knight fell off his horse.
The fierce cavalry charge into the formation caused heavy casualties to Li Dingguo, Li Mingzhong, and Bai Wenxuan. Fortunately, the Ming army had many soldiers and a thick military formation. The Qing army's cavalry rushed into the opaque army formation and gradually fell into the formation, speeding up. Slow down.
"Bang! Bah! Bah!"
The Ming gunners behind the spears started shooting, knocking off their horses one after another.
The Ming army's sword and shield men also began to chop off the horse's legs.
Seeing the opaque army's formation, Tan Tai ordered the cavalry to withdraw.
"Woo! Woo! Woo!"
The long retreat horn sounded, and the Qing army retreated like a tide.
"Change!"
Seeing that the attack was not going well, Tan Tai ordered a change of formation.
Upon seeing the Chinese army's order, rows of Qing troops changed their formations, from wing formations to round formations.
Tan Tai ordered the 30,000 cavalrymen who had withdrawn to dismount and launch fire. At this time, they turned into archers.
A wave of arrows, 30,000 arrows. The Qing army’s arrow rain, wave after wave.
"Rush!"
Generals Li Dingguo, Li Mingzhong, Bai Wenxuan and others ordered the charge.
Countless Ming troops carried shields and swords and ran towards the Qing army's formation.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The feathered arrows of the Qing army made the Ming army's rattan rattle.
Although the bow and arrow projectile was not very powerful and could not penetrate shields and armor, it had a long range and the Qing army had many archers. Countless arrows fell overwhelmingly. Soldiers were constantly shot in the face, neck, instep and other weakly protected parts and fell to the ground. .
The Qing army's circular formation was very conducive to defense. The outermost layer was spearmen, followed by sword and shield soldiers, gunmen and archers. From a distance, it looked like a huddled hedgehog.
This chapter has been completed!