Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 320: Marching into Ezhou

When the news of Duoduo's defeat was reported to Beijing, the Qing court was shocked and all the officials were in a state of panic. Zhang Wangzhi, the Imperial Censor of Engineering, shouted in the court: "Jiangnan is where the court collects taxes. If we lose Jiangnan, the whole country will be in turmoil. If we lose Huguang, I'm afraid the whole world will be in danger!"

The censor Li Yangyi submitted a petition with earnest words, asking the court to mobilize all the troops outside the Great Wall and the Mongolian cavalry. He said in the petition: "The troops outside the Great Wall are like sleeping dragons, and the Mongolian cavalry are like crouching tigers. These elite troops should be mobilized and sent south. With the whole country's troops, we can attack Mongolia and defeat the bandits in one fell swoop."

Dorgon felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly when he heard these censors' calls for clean government. He had already mobilized all the troops outside the Great Wall and the Mongolian cavalry that could be mobilized. If he mobilized more troops from outside the Great Wall, he would not want Liaodong anymore. If he drew more Mongolian cavalry, he was afraid that people like Teng Jisi would rise again. But Dorgon could not rebuke them for their nonsense. On the surface, these censors who submitted memorials were all concerned about the good of the Qing Dynasty.

Dorgon could only do the same as the Ming Dynasty emperors and keep the memorial without sending it out, pretending that he did not see it.

………………

As for the city of Wuchang, it was like sitting on the crater of a volcano. There were three shocks a day and the whole city was in a panic. Some said that Prince Yu was beheaded in battle, some said he was captured alive, and some said that the Zhou army was about to arrive at the city.

Luo Xiujin, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of the Qing Dynasty and Governor-General of Huguang, who was stationed in Wuchang, searched the whole city for spies of the Qingluan Guard in order to appease the people's hearts. At the same time, he urgently reported to Beijing, stating the importance of Wuchang City in Huguang and asking the court not to give up easily. At the same time, he sent letters one after another, asking Prince Su to send Yintu to rush to Wuchang for assistance.

When Dorgon received the result of the Huguang War, his hands and feet could not help but tremble. Even Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang asked Dorgon nervously, "Has the situation in Huguang reached a point where it is out of control?"

Dorgon consoled him by saying, "We still have Haoge Baiyintu's troops in Huguang. The two of them have more than 100,000 troops. There is still room for the situation to turn around."

Along with the report of the defeat came the news that Duoduo was seriously ill and no longer able to command the army. Dorgon looked around the court and the country and it seemed that there was only one person who could stabilize the situation in Huguang at this time, and that was his uncle, Jirgalang, the trustworthy and regent.

Jirgalang, who was nearly 50 years old, was one of the eight Heshuo Beile who participated in the Eight Banners' political affairs during the Nurhaci period, and also one of the four princes in the Huang Taiji era. After Shunzhi ascended the throne, he was conferred the title of the faithful and loyal uncle king, the only person in the history of the Qing Dynasty to be conferred the title of uncle king.

After Dodo's defeat, even though Dorgon was worried, he had to cheer up and deal with the situation in Huguang. He knew that after Dodo's defeat, many people would change their minds, especially Prince Su Haoge. Haoge had been eyeing the throne and had never given up his ambition to inherit the throne. After Dodo's defeat, his desire would only grow even more.

If Dorgon did not send people south to take charge of the situation, and if by any chance Baiyintu sided with Hauge, then Dorgon's faction would probably be in a dead end.

Prince Zheng Jirgalang was a calm person and had a very high status in the Qing court. Therefore, Dorgon asked Jirgalang to go to Huguang to take charge of the overall situation. Although Jirgalang had supported Hauge, Dorgon knew that in this critical situation, Jirgalang would definitely restrict Hauge's ambitions, because both Dorgon and Jirgalang knew that once Hauge launched another offensive to seize the throne, the Qing Dynasty would inevitably fall into a civil war. By that time, let alone unifying the world, it might not even be able to retreat to the outside of the Great Wall.

Jirgalang had a calm character, but calmness also meant conservatism. At this time, Dorgon no longer wanted to defeat Meng Jun immediately. He just wanted to stabilize the situation, not only the war situation, but more importantly, political stability.

Before leaving, Jirgalang said to Dorgon: "Prince Regent, we should not attack Mengjun again until we are sure of victory."

Jirgalang sighed and said, "It can happen once or twice, but it can never happen again. The Qing Dynasty can no longer afford a failure like the Huguang War!"

Dorgon frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "If I don't attack, they will surely attack!"

"Cough... cough, the land in the north is different from the south. The south of the Yangtze River is densely covered with water networks, and Huguang is full of mountains. It is difficult for war horses to gallop. Even if Meng Jun comes to attack, what is there to be afraid of!" Jirgalang coughed twice and said slowly.

Dorgon advised: "The southerners are good at internal fighting. The stronger Meng Jun becomes, the more troubled Sun Kewang, Zhu Youlang and others will be. Prince Zheng does not need to worry too much."

"How can I not worry? If Taizu's foundation is destroyed in our hands, how can I face him in the underworld in the future?"

………………

Ezhou City.

After Duoduo withdrew his troops, after sheltering from heavy rain for three days in the camp, the remaining troops of Duoduo abandoned the camp and retreated to Ezhou city.

When the army was defeated, He Luo would leave Hazhe'a to gather the defeated soldiers. Hazhe'a braved the heavy rain and took his personal guards to gather the defeated soldiers on the official road. They worked hard until nightfall, and Hazhe'a only gathered more than 2,700 people. When Duoduo set out from Wuchang, the cavalry and infantry had nearly 80,000 soldiers.

When they returned to Ezhou City after their defeat, there were only 5,500 Mongolian cavalrymen left. More than 600 cavalrymen of the Han Army Flag had withdrawn, and less than 1,000 Han Army Flag infantry had returned. Together with Bolo's 3,000 Bordered White Bannermen, a total of 80,000 people were left. When they arrived at Ezhou City, there were only more than 12,000 people.

Of the 80,000 Qing troops, 12,000 escaped back to Ezhou, more than 25,000 were captured by Zhou's army, and Wu Sangui's 10,000 cavalrymen gathered more than 1,000 defeated soldiers.

Of the remaining 30,000 men, more than 17,000 cavalry and infantry died in the battle, and the remaining 10,000-plus were either killed in the wilderness, scattered in the countryside, or became bandits or robbers.

After the heavy rain stopped, Zheng Chenggong led more than 35,000 infantrymen, under the cover of the navy, and marched towards Ezhou City in a menacing manner. Zheng Chenggong was extremely upset about the defeat of his vanguard, especially since Meng Jun defeated Duoduo head-on on the main battlefield, while he was defeated by only 3,000 cavalry. Whenever Zheng Chenggong thought of this, he was extremely angry.

There are many advantages of Zheng Chenggong, such as perseverance, persistence, courage, strong will and never giving up. But he also has a lot of shortcomings, such as he is too arrogant, conceited, eager for quick success and cold-blooded.

In history, when Zheng Zhilong decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he wanted Zheng Chenggong to follow him, but Zheng Chenggong said firmly: "Fathers have always taught their sons to be loyal, and I have never heard of teaching their sons to be treacherous. Now my father does not listen to me. If something unexpected happens in the future, I will just wear mourning clothes!"

When Zheng Chenggong marched into Ezhou, Chen Yonghua privately advised him, "Wuchang City is short of soldiers and generals. Haoge, Baiyintu, and Duoduo are all unable to come to our aid overnight. If we can capture Wuchang City, it will be like having one more bargaining chip for our army. Why bother to fight with Duoduo's remaining troops? A trapped beast will still fight. Don't stop the retreating army!"

However, Zheng Chenggong immediately rejected Chen Yonghua's suggestion. Duoduo was defeated and trapped in Ezhou. If Duoduo could be killed, he would surely be glorious.

Zheng Chenggong maintained a tight formation along the way and slowly approached Ezhou. Under the cover of the navy's artillery, the Mongolian cavalry that came out of the city to harass had no chance to take advantage.

On the 27th day of the first lunar month in the third year of the Yongli reign, Zheng's troops surrounded Ezhou.