Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 366 Jiang Ning can lose, but Duke Yan must save

Hangzhou.

Minister of the Ministry of War, Hangzhou Garrison Meilezhang Jingzhu Mala, and Zhejiang Governor Li Yuchun, Zhejiang Governor Pan Yinglou, Zhejiang Admiral, Chaoyong Gong Zheng Jiwu, Haiyan Marquis Zhu Dagang, and Chief Envoy Zhu Guofan discussed the military situation.

Jiang Ning sent letters for help one by one.

Kangkala also sent several groups of people, but after the last messenger arrived, there have been no messengers for several days.

"The Ming army is now divided into groups. Ming Emperor Zhu Yihai personally led six townsmen to surround Jiangning City, and sent General Wang Xiang to lead the imperial battalion from four towns and local soldiers. A total of tens of thousands of people went to Changzhou to encircle Suzhou. Suzhou was in danger."

Zheng Jiwu, the third class of Chaoyong, directly and clearly pointed out the sinister intentions of Emperor Ming, which was to prevent the reinforcements from Suzhou and Hangzhou from going north, in order to break through Jiangning City.

"Duke Yan now only has half of Jiangning City left, which is in danger."

Pan Yinglou, the governor of Zhejiang, also immediately said, "Rescuing soldiers is like fighting fires. We can no longer hesitate, we must send troops immediately."

Zhu Mala still hesitated.

What he was worried about was Wang Zhiren on the other side of the Qiantang River. This person was the Governor of the Beijing Camp awarded by Zhu Yihai. After Zhu Yihai quietly led the main force to the north, he had an elite soldier in his hand.

And I heard that recently Wang Zhiren has been desperately recruiting troops according to the order, and his Beijing camp has been expanded into three battalions: the three thousand battalion, the fifth army battalion and the fire attack battalion, each battalion is said to have [-] soldiers.

The [-] battalion was stationed in Shaoxing, the fifth army battalion was stationed in Yanzhou, and the fire attack battalion was stationed in Ningbo, guarding the south bank of Qiantang.

"I have received news that Zhu Yihai has built a new camp in Fujian, with Zhu Chenggong, the son of Zheng Zhilong, the governor of Fujian, as the admiral of the camp, and sent [-] troops to the south, and they have now arrived in Zhoushan.

It was rumored that Zhu Yihai named Zheng Zhilong the governor of the imperial camp, a scholar of Dongge University, and the prince and Taibao, and summoned him to go north.Zheng Zhilong has received the decree, and he is leaving for the north. He also brought a Zheng fleet to the north. It is said that there are more than a hundred ships of all sizes, two thousand sailors, and three thousand infantry. . "

If these news are true, then not only Jiangning is in crisis, but Hangzhou is also facing a severe situation.

Wang Zhiren already had three major battalions of the Beijing camp, Zhu Chenggong's [-] battalion, and Zheng Zhilong's [-] Fujian elites. If you add the battalions from eastern Zhejiang, their strength is not weaker than that of the Qing army in western Zhejiang.

It is difficult for them to defend Hangzhou. If the main force goes north, Hangzhou may be beaten at any time.

Although Zhuma La is also concerned about the safety of Jiangning, he believes that Hangzhou should not be lost.

Now that the south of the Yangtze River is corrupt, West Zhejiang is already a rare thing. If the west of Zhejiang is corrupted again, the entire South of the Yangtze River will be completely impossible to defend.

Especially in Hangzhou, it is at the forefront, and there is no room for loss.

Zhu Mala, the Minister of the Ministry of War, used to work in the Ministry of War in real terms, not with a title. He had his own understanding of the overall situation.

Moreover, he believed that when the imperial court decided to send [-] Banners to the south, stationed in Jiangning, Hangzhou, Songjiang, and Suzhou, the purpose was to hold several key towns and establish support points.

Now if the Eight Banners return to aid Jiangning, it will run counter to the original plan.

"Jiangning must be saved, but Hangzhou must be defended."

Zhuma La clearly expressed his attitude, "Hangzhou is the support of western Zhejiang, and it is also the stronghold against Nanming."

Zheng Jiwu was a little surprised.

"But Jiangning is in critical condition now, and even Suzhou may fall at any time? Ignore it? Has the servant ever thought about the consequences if Jiangning falls? It is true that Hangzhou is the support point of western Zhejiang, but Jiangning is the support point of the entire Jiangnan."

"If Jiangning is at fault, how can Hangzhou survive alone?"

Li Yuchun patted the table directly.

To be honest, he doesn't really care about whether Jiangning City is lost or not. What he cares about is the safety of Yan Wogong and Yan Jinglue. Yan Jinglue is his noble person and his most stable backer. He doesn't want Yan Gong to make any mistakes.

So Jiang Ning can be lost, but Yan Jinglue must be saved.

"Zhu Mala, what is your intention? Do you still have a superior official in your eyes? Mr. Yan is a scholar of the imperial court. He is the Minister of the Ministry of War and the right deputy. The army is annihilated, Zhenjiang is lost, Jiangning has only half of the city left, Duke Yan is still waiting for our rescue, but you want to die?"

"Say, what are your intentions?"

Because of Li Yuchun's outstanding performance in Zhejiang, especially his great achievements in regaining Yuhang, Fuyang and other places before, and attacking Shaoxing, the imperial court specially added him, the governor of Zhejiang, as the Minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The Governor-General was also specially appointed as the third-class Marquis.

Compared with Zhu Mala, the minister of the Ministry of War, and Hangzhou Merle Zhangjing, Li Yuchun's official rank and title are far superior to Zhu Mala's. Even Li Yuchun specially entered the Zhengbai Banner of the Han Army, and he was able to call himself a slave when writing memorials to the emperor. people.

In fact, it was not long before Zhumala went south. Before that, he was unable to go south because of lack of money and food in Jiangning. Later, he was ambushed and surrounded by Kang Lala. He finally got out of the siege, but the canal was still blocked, and the money and food were not available, so he had to stop and go. , All the way to the west of Zhejiang with great difficulty, this is the supply, all the way to Hangzhou.

After arriving in Hangzhou, he started busy building the city, mobilizing money, food, storage and supplies, resting soldiers and horses, etc. Before he came, he interfered too much with Zhejiang's local affairs. During this time, the Ming army in eastern Zhejiang did not come. Harassment, so they lived in peace, and he didn't have much interaction with Li Yuchun and other governors, admirals, and governors.

"I'm just discussing the matter, Jiang Ning was saved, but we can't lose sight of the other!" Zhu Mala retorted.

Li Yuchun flicked his hand, "I don't care what you have or not, I only know that Duke Yan is still the manager of the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. Since Yan Jinglue ordered the Zhejiang soldiers to go north to rescue Jiangning, he must obey the order."

"Admiral Zheng, Zongbing Zhu, the headquarters intends to personally mobilize Zhejiang soldiers to go north for reinforcements."

Zheng Jiwu responded loudly, "Your Majesty will issue an order to dispatch troops, and the Zhejiang Green Battalion will immediately gather in Hangzhou, and go north with the governor to rescue Jiangning."

Governor Pan Yinglou also expressed his willingness to take Fubiao northward.

Zhuma La looked at these people, frowning tightly.

"You take all the soldiers away, what about Zhejiang?"

"Isn't there still your servant Zhumala in Zhejiang? If you don't leave, just stay."

Zhuma La was also annoyed, "I only have [-] soldiers, how can I defend the three prefectures in western Zhejiang, even a city of Hangzhou may not be able to defend it."

"It doesn't work, that doesn't work, what do you want?" Li Yuchun said angrily, "Could it be that we all stay to satisfy you?"

Seeing the attitude of these people, Zhuma La could only keep it in her heart.

"It's okay to send troops to rescue Jiangning, but you can't ignore Hangzhou. Besides, if you send troops in a hurry, it will be difficult to supply too many soldiers and horses with food and grass." He made a suggestion, "You should choose an elite team to go north for reinforcements. The soldiers are expensive and not many. , This will also reduce the difficulty of food supply.”

"From Hangzhou to Jiangning, it takes [-] miles to travel along the canal. Now the canal is frozen and can't be shipped. If you use cavalry to rescue, you can travel [-] miles a day, and you can get there in four days at the fastest. But if you bring infantry, you can get there. If the infantry marches a hundred miles a day, it will take eight days."

Zheng Jiwu narrowed his eyes, "In this way, I suggest that Zhu Shilang take two thousand and five Hangzhou to garrison the Eight Banners, and ride to Jiangning first on horseback. Governor Li and I will lead the infantry to come later, and Governor Pan and Political Envoy Zhu Bu will stay in Hangzhou. .”

Jumala spread out a map.

"How about this, I led [-] Hangzhou Eight Banners, and Admiral Zheng also dispatched the cavalry from the Green Camp in Zhejiang. We rode first, not passing through Jiaxing and Suzhou, but on the west side of Taihu Lake, from Hangzhou to Liyang via Deqing, Huzhou, Changxing, and Yixing. , Lishui, and then to Jiangning.

This route is about [-] miles. If we go [-] miles a day and night, it only takes three days. We can bring dry food and fodder without logistical supplies at all.

How many cavalry can Admiral Zheng mobilize? "

"Not many, there is a shortage of horses in the south of the Yangtze River." Zheng Jiwu said.

"Ordinary horses and mules are also fine. What we want is to be able to travel, and we don't need real cavalry." Zhuma La said, "I leave the five hundred and eight banners in Hangzhou, and Admiral Zheng can send three thousand horses and mules to ride. 5000 people rushed to aid Jiangning, three days, is it feasible?"

Zheng Jiwu had no expression on his face, "It won't work for three days. I have to transfer the horse mule soldiers back from Huzhou, Jiaxing, and Hangzhou. It took more than three days to prepare."

"Besides, it's raining and snowing, and it's covered with ice and snow everywhere. It's impossible to run two hundred miles a day."

Jumala frowned.

"Then I will lead two thousand and eight banners first, and you will mobilize three thousand cavalry to come later, is it possible?"

Zheng Jiwu nodded, "I can order the various ministries to dispatch cavalry to assemble in Huzhou. In this case, it will take me about three days."

Zhuma La thought for a while, "Two days, I'll wait for you in Huzhou for a day, and then we will keep a distance of one day, so we can have a backup. The snowy road is difficult, so we will use it from Hangzhou to Jiangning. Six days, one hundred miles a day to the head office."

"This is fine." Zheng Jiwu nodded, "But the situation in Suzhou is not optimistic now, and Kang Shilang is still waiting for us to rescue him."

"Let Hetuo from Songjiang go to Suzhou to rescue the siege. Kang Kara is Hetuo's cousin. Governor Li can choose [-] Zhejiang infantry to rush to Songjiang, join Hetuo's soldiers and horses and go to Suzhou to rescue the siege. We will divide our troops into two groups. There can be a mixture of fiction and reality.”

Zheng Jiwu and Zhu Dagang looked at each other quietly.

"Why don't the last general lead [-] infantry soldiers to Songjiang to meet up with the minister's men and horses to go to Suzhou? Hangzhou is important and cannot be lost. Let Governor Zhu, Governor Pan, and Zhu Fantai lead the troops to stay here?" said Zhu Dagang, the commander-in-chief of Hangzhou. road.

Five thousand infantry and five thousand horses each, and the soldiers divided into three groups and went northward to rescue.

In this way, Hangzhou is guarded by Li Yuchun, there are supervisors, Fubiao, Daobiao, and five hundred and eight banner soldiers, etc., plus soldiers from Huzhou, Jiaxing and other places, there are still tens of thousands of people.

Zhumala thinks this plan is better, at least it is much better than rushing to Jiangning with all the bees. If they ride tens of thousands of steps and go north together, the logistical food and grass will not be able to supply.

Now if you go north with light packs and each person carries [-] days of dry food, then there is no need for additional logistical supply transportation.

Zhumala didn't want to take the Eight Banners northward at first, but Li Yuchun and Zheng Jiwu forced him to send troops, and he had nothing to do.

"So it's settled then?"

"it is good!"

"I'll leave early tomorrow morning!" Zhuma La said.

Zheng Jiwu nodded, "I will mobilize [-] horse and mule soldiers to gather in Huzhou and follow up."

Zhu Dagang also said, "Then we will lead [-] infantry to join Songjiang and entrust the servant to go to Suzhou."

(End of this chapter)