Taking a deep breath, Zhu Hongyu opened his mouth and gave instructions.
"Instruct all ministries and all officers on duty to speed up the speed and frequency of shift changes..."
Zhu Hongyu felt a little sorry for the soldiers below, but he asked him to ask the Liberation Army not to continue to stand guard in the heavy snow.
That is impossible!
Watching stuff is no joke.
In the event of a Qing army raid, these officers on duty would serve as the army's firewall and alarm.
There must be no carelessness!
However, although not being on duty is not an option, he can speed up the rotation frequency to make the soldiers on duty suffer less.
…
Qing army camp!
Tu Hai listened to the reports from people below about the number of people who died from frostbite last night, and the expression on his old face kept changing.
Just last night, more than thirty people in the Qing army froze to death.
Nearly two hundred people suffered frostbite. The frostbite mentioned here is the kind of frostbite that requires amputation.
Things like frostbite are not even counted.
Listening to this shocking number, Tu Hai's face turned ugly.
Most of the soldiers of the Qing army were from the north. Compared with the Ming army, they were indeed more frost-resistant.
However, these soldiers of the Qing Dynasty could withstand the dry and cold conditions in the north, but they may not be able to withstand the cold and wet conditions in the south.
As we all know, the climate in the south is relatively humid.
Cold is not physical damage, it is magic damage with armor piercing.
"Sir, the temperature is still dropping. I'm afraid more people will freeze to death tonight!"
Li Guoying was wrapped in a thick plush cloak and said in a deep voice.
Even though he was wrapped like this, he could still feel the biting cold, let alone those green soldiers of the Qing army who only had uniforms.
Since it started snowing yesterday, many soldiers of the Qing Dynasty have huddled together on a large bunk to keep warm in order not to freeze to death.
But even so, dozens of people froze to death last night!
Tu Hai asked.
“Is the army’s firewood gone?”
Li Guoying nodded and said.
"Your Majesty the Governor, he's gone a long time ago!"
"With an army of hundreds of thousands, no matter how much firewood we prepare in advance, it will only be a drop in the bucket when it is really needed!"
Tuhai pondered for a while, then ordered Taiying, who was in a plate, to say.
"You send a group of Eight Banners soldiers out of the camp to cut down trees and get firewood!"
Taiying responded with her fists clasped.
Logically speaking, it is not the Eight Banners soldiers' turn to do things like chopping firewood.
But unfortunately the weather is too cold!
The thinly dressed Green Campers and civilians could not leave the camp, and would freeze to death if they did.
This kind of thing can only be done by Eight Banners soldiers.
Well, I’m not sure how effective the cotton armor on my Eight Banners Soldiers of the Qing Dynasty is in terms of protection.
But in terms of thermal insulation effect, there is definitely nothing to say.
Regardless of the iron pieces in the sandwich, there is no problem at all in saying that the Eight Banners' cotton-padded armor is a large cotton-padded jacket.
After talking about these things, Tuhai discussed with the Qing generals about withdrawing troops.
Tu Hai gave a bitter smile and then spoke.
"Although I don't want to admit it, the Qing Dynasty was indeed defeated in this decisive battle in Jiangnan!"
"This is a fact, no need to deny it!"
The decisive battle in Jiangnan, so far, is still in a tug-of-war stage.
The Qing army has not yet been defeated and collapsed!
However, in this battle, the Qing army was suppressed and beaten throughout the entire battle, and was constantly bleeding.
Even though the Qing army is still very large in strength, those who can and dare to fight are basically dead.
The rest of them can still be called elite soldiers!
But he was an elite soldier who was beaten to death by the Ming army!
Tu Hai knew that the decisive battle in Jiangnan could not be fought.
If he stopped at this time, there was still a certain possibility that the main force of the army could retreat across the Yangtze River and preserve the Qing Dynasty's vitality.
However, if he wants to insist on a decisive victory with the Ming army in Jiangnan...
There is a high probability that the more than 200,000 troops, which included half of the main force of the Qing court, were completely wiped out by the Ming army in the south of the Yangtze River.
As for counter-killing the Ming army...
Tuhai dare not think about it!
The only thing Tu Hai wants to do now is to cut his losses.
He must not throw all the main force of the Qing army he has at Jiangnan.
"Let's all discuss this. If I want to withdraw my troops, what should I do to preserve the vitality of the army as much as possible and evacuate Jiangnan calmly?"
Tuhai's voice revealed a strong sense of exhaustion.
After hearing this, the generals of the Qing army began to discuss and express their different opinions.
Tae Young-ah said.
"Sir, why is this happening?"
"Although our army suffered a temporary setback, the main force is still there. If we continue to fight, we may not necessarily be defeated by the Ming thieves. Why should we retreat?!"
"Isn't this giving up to the Ming thief?"
"Even if we, the Qing Dynasty, are at a disadvantage now, it is only temporary."
As a Manchu general who was loyal to the Qing court, Tai Ying'a was unwilling to admit that the southern expedition that the court had spent so much effort organizing had failed.
Unwilling to admit it, the Qing Dynasty was defeated by the Ming thieves in the decisive battle!
Wutuo also spoke.
"Yes, my lord, as the defending side, the Qing Dynasty is now mentally exhausted due to long-term fighting, let alone the Ming thieves as the attacking side?"
"At this time, the Ming thief's military morale must also be low!"
The corners of Tuhai's mouth twitched, but he didn't bother to retort.
Can the current Qing army be called defensive?
It's obviously a unilateral beating, okay?
Thousands of casualties every day. Over time, who the hell can bear it?!
However, Li Guoying gave a pertinent suggestion.
"My Lord Governor, my opinion is that some of our troops can stay behind to block the attack, and the rest of the troops can take advantage of this opportunity to quickly move north along the canal and escape from the battlefield."
"And then there are the civilian men in the army!"
"As long as our army keeps those civilians and disperses them throughout the south of the Yangtze River."
"It must be enough to give the Ming thief a headache. By then, the Ming thief will naturally be unable to pursue me, the Qing Dynasty!"
Tuhai nodded approvingly.
…
At this time, the decisive battle between the Ming and Qing armies on the land south of the Yangtze River was intensifying and reaching a fever pitch.
Huguang is not calm either.
Wu Sangui personally led his troops northward and attacked Wuchang Prefecture, Huangzhou Prefecture and other places.
Prepare to seize a bridgehead for future trips eastward along the Yangtze River!
Facing Wu Sangui, a man of the Qing Dynasty who was carrying the banner of the Qing monarch, the Qing troops in Wuchang Prefecture, Huangzhou Prefecture and other places put up quite fierce resistance.
Although the local Qing army was unable to engage Wu Sangui's Guan Ning army in a field battle, there was still no problem in defending the city.
Wu Sangui was trapped under Wuchang City for more than a month, and then he conquered Wuchang City with great difficulty.
In order to vent his anger and shock, Wu Sangui issued an order to "massacre the city" after conquering Wuchang.
Of course, Wu Sangui's current rule is that the population is scarce, so he will definitely not kill indiscriminately at this time.
The only ones who were really killed were the surrendered Qing troops defending the city.
Almost all the Qing troops defending the city in this battle were killed by Wu Sangui in one fell swoop after they surrendered.
Most of the people in Wuchang City were beaten into slaves and forcibly moved to Sichuan and Shu for cultivation.
Huangzhou Mansion, not far from Wuchang, was frightened by Wu Sangui's actions. Later, after receiving Wu Sangui's letter persuading him to surrender, he wisely chose to surrender.
After Huangzhou Prefecture also fell into the hands of Wu Sangui, Wu Sangui still successfully took over one of the most important cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
After taking Huangzhou, Wu Sangui did not listen to the persuasion of his subordinates and continued to move eastward along the Yangtze River to capture important places such as Jiujiang and Anqing.
Instead, they began to deploy defenses around Wuchang Prefecture and Huangzhou Prefecture!