Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 152 Suicide
Nikan's troops were destined to fall into Zhu Cilang's hands since they left the Hangzhou camp.

This sentence may sound a bit pretentious, but the situation is set and there is really not much possibility of going astray.

As for why it was said that it was since he left the Hangzhou camp rather than since the small group of Tartars was destroyed, it was because Duoduo did have other choices at that time.

If he had concentrated on capturing Hangzhou at that time, he would have decisively withdrawn his troops from Suzhou and Songjiang, which were not conducive to their performance.

After taking Hangzhou and severing the land connection between Jiangnan and other provinces of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing army could calmly turn around and reorganize the densely networked areas around Taihu Lake.

It’s a pity that Duoduo was ultimately unable to make up his mind to make a choice, which led to Nikan falling headfirst into the trap that Zhu Cilang had set long ago.

Of course, both he and Nikan had followed the older generation on the battlefield since they were young, so how could they not guess the purpose of the Ming army's actions?

But in the final analysis, their problem was never about tactics. Even though they saw through Zhu Cilang's plan and made the best response, it was still of no avail.

The so-called best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities.

After crossing the Yangtze River, Duoduo tried his best to avoid the occurrence of siege. He also used the capture of Hongguang as an opportunity to weaken the resistance of various cities in the south of the Yangtze River, almost making Yingtian an isolated city.

However, these successes one after another made him overlook an extremely important point, that is, the Qing army had no foundation in Jiangnan, while his enemies had a broad ruling base here. Even if this foundation had been corroded and riddled with holes, if used in the right place it could play a role far beyond its own capabilities at a critical moment.

So after a series of strategic advances, Duoduo was finally faced with a dilemma. Under the dual effects of strategic shortsightedness and contempt for the enemy, the fate of Nikan's troops was naturally determined when they left Hangzhou.

At this point, some people may ask, Duoduo wants to keep Suzhou and Songjiang, and also wants to protect the troops in Ordu, but doesn’t Zhu Cilang want to swallow Nikan and keep Hangzhou?
Both of them don't want to pay the price, what are the similarities and differences between them?
Well, actually, there is no difference between the two in essence.

Duoduo overestimated the surrendered army's ability to withstand desperate situations, and Zhu Cilang overlooked Wuzhen Chaoha who had crossed the river. Both sides gained and lost, but the outcome of this battle, which was related to the entire situation in the south of the Yangtze River, was no longer something the two commanders could control.

Hu Maozhen had been thinking about how to escape ever since he followed Nikan out of the camp. However, his several attempts to emphasize the seriousness of the camp riot were ignored or interrupted by Nikan, which made it impossible for him to put forward the idea of ​​using this as a prelude to investigate the situation first.

In this situation, he couldn't just sit there and wait to die, but as the distance to the camp was getting shorter and shorter, he still couldn't find a suitable reason.

In this situation, he had no choice but to escape in the chaos when his soldiers launched an attack.

As for why he didn't try to kidnap Nikam.
Haha, do you really think it would be that easy to command a fully armed army?

Fortunately, there is always a way out. Just as he was concentrating on preparing to escape from danger.

Nikan actually took a few quick steps to distance himself from him, and Goshaha beside him followed closely. For a moment, no one paid any attention to him, the general.

Hu Maozhen has been in the army for many years and has been in at least tens of battles. He was able to survive in these fights, so his adaptability is naturally top-notch.

For a moment, he didn't care whether anyone could see his expression in the dark. He reined in his horse and stood still, while emotions such as shame, anger, and regret were revealed through his facial features.

When he looked forward again, Nikam and Goshha had left him far behind, and the last row of the queue just missed him.

Now or never.

At this point Hu Maozhen certainly would not hesitate for a moment. While no one was paying attention, he controlled his horse and disappeared into the night.

"Fire arrows!"

After running for only three or two breaths, Hu Maozhen heard a shout in the darkness. It was obvious that the soldiers hidden on both sides immediately launched an attack after discovering that their commander had escaped from danger.

Normally, an ambushed army would be defeated because it takes a lot of time to switch from marching formation to battle formation.

The elite level of the Eight Banners soldiers led by Nikan could be regarded as the best among the top ones at that time.

When Hu Maozhen turned his head again, he saw that the soldiers had formed small formations in such a short time, and these small formations continued to gather during the breaks in the rain of arrows.

"Break out to the camp!"

Nikan's voice suddenly sounded, and Hu Maozhen became confused after taking a quick look at the situation on the battlefield.

He originally thought that with the time he had bought, he could at least gather two to three thousand soldiers. However, when he reunited with his own team, he found that there were only about fifteen or sixteen thousand people.

This number of troops may be used to bluff people, but they are not strong enough to encircle and annihilate these eight hundred real Tartars.

How to do?
Do you want to give it a try?
The benefits of killing Nikan are very obvious. As long as he hands over this letter of allegiance, he will have no way to retreat. The Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, who has no field combat force, will definitely use him.

By then, it is not completely hopeless to receive the same treatment as the four towns in Jiangbei.

But it was too difficult to achieve this with the current number of men and women. It was so difficult that the thought only appeared in Hu Maozhen's mind for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.

Forget it, saving your life is the most important thing. Anyway, we are surrounded by the Ming army inside and outside. At worst, I can look for another opportunity later.

"Three surrounded but one missing!"

Seeing Nikan rushing back and forth under the protection of Goshaha, Hu Maozhen decisively issued a new order, and his soldiers immediately stopped chasing.

For Hu Maozhen, this was indeed a good choice. Even if he really had the ability to keep Nikan and the eight hundred Zhen Tartars, it would still take a lot of time.

But if he used this time to suppress the camp uprising, he could still save most of the soldiers. If he took this opportunity to kill all the soldiers in the neighboring camp, the strength of his troops would not be damaged but would increase a lot.

Even if he failed to take Nikan's head by then, with the tens of thousands of soldiers capable of field battle in his hands, he would be able to gain a firm foothold in the Ming Dynasty. His status would not necessarily be much lower, and his situation would even be much more comfortable than if he killed Nikan.

As for whether the failure to complete the agreement reached with Zhu Cilang would make him turn against him.
Anyway, it happened. The ambush was done. It was just God's will that Nikan didn't die.

After all, he was just wandering in the encirclement of the Ming army and was not escaping. Could it be that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty would blame a general who had tens of thousands of field troops under his command?
Thinking of this, Hu Maozhen suddenly found that this seemed to be a good choice. While commanding his soldiers to kill the Tatars who had failed to escape the encirclement, he was thinking about where to start to suppress the camp riot.

It’s a long story, but from the time the rain of arrows fell on the Tartars to the time Nikan escaped from the encirclement, only half an incense stick of time passed.

Just when everyone thought that this ambush would end with neither side achieving their goals, the sound of war horses neighing suddenly rang out.

When Hu Maozhen looked in the direction of the voice, he vaguely saw that a group of people had collided with the Tartars who were about to escape, while more than a dozen knights including Nikan had disappeared.

这 是
In such a situation, there would be no one else except the Ming army, but he really couldn't understand where the Ming army, which had never been good at frontal combat, got the courage from.

Don’t they know that they can chase down the fleeing enemy troops, but they must never block their escape route?
Yes, there are few people under the prince who have actually fought in a war, so it is naturally unlikely that they know this "common sense".

After realizing this, Hu Maozhen fell into a dilemma again.

Should we lend a helping hand or just sit back and do nothing?
"Take your men to suppress the camp roar." This time he did not think for too long. After a moment, he gave an order to the general beside him, and he led a hundred or so soldiers to that side.

As the saying goes, never chase an enemy who is desperate.

Naturally, he had no intention of helping that team of ignorant Ming soldiers. The reason why he brought people over was, to put it bluntly, to make a rescue gesture. Fortunately, when they met the prince after the war, everyone's faces did not look too bad.

As for whether this team of people would eventually be dispersed and killed by the Tartars, it was not within his consideration.

However, as the two sides got closer, Hu Maozhen saw the situation on the battlefield more and more clearly.
When there were only fifty or sixty steps left, one could already see the battle situation clearly.

Then he just froze on the spot.

He thought that even if the Ming army was not defeated by the Tartars at this time, it would not be able to stop them from escaping. Even if the Tartars were temporarily unable to escape because of their entanglement, this team of Ming army would still pay a heavy price.

But who would have thought that when he looked carefully, he found that the battle situation was far different from what he had imagined. Not only did the Ming army not pay much price, but they also stopped the Tartars in their tracks and prevented them from advancing an inch.

The prince actually has such a powerful army? !

"Pack it!"

Seeing this, Hu Maozhen instantly overturned all his plans, shouted loudly, and led the hundred or so people to attack the Tartar flank.

The so-called strong army is naturally no other than the Prince's guards led by Xiang Rensheng.

To be honest, although the guards are strong, they are definitely not strong enough to fight against the same number of real Tartars.

But at this time, the Tatars' formation had all dispersed in the process of fleeing, and even if there were still groups of three or five, they could not do anything.

As a result, the battle became a disorganized melee, and the guards' lack of familiarity with the changes in battle formations was completely covered up.

Of course, Xiang Rensheng, who had been in the army for less than two months, naturally could not see through this.

At this moment, he only felt that the enemy in front of him seemed to be far inferior to the Tartars he encountered on the Yingtian city wall.

This is not surprising, because the Tartars at the beginning were all picked from thousands or tens of thousands of miles away, but those now are not only ordinary bannermen, but their morale has been completely destroyed due to various influences.

Moreover, without the support of the battle formation, the battle changed from a test of soldiers' coordination to a test of personal bravery. In this regard, how many people could defeat the guards wearing double armor and holding heavy weapons?

"Hey!"

"Crack!"

As Xiang Rensheng turned around, he smashed the iron rod in his hand hard on the waist of the Tartar beside him, and then the sound of bone breaking came into his ears.

Earlier, after he left the surrendered army camp that was causing a commotion, he followed the group of Tartars to the vicinity of the Banner Army camp. After finding out the general movements of the Qing army, he turned around and rushed to reunite with the main group of troops.

There were some twists and turns during this period, but they are not worth mentioning.

In short, while Hu Maozhen was leading the team to the flag soldier camp, the battle was also taking place here.

In this situation, Xiang Rensheng knew how to deal with it. After sending part of his troops to intercept the possible reinforcements from the banner army camp, he led hundreds of guards and rushed straight to the battlefield.

Fortunately, the guard was quite fast, and when Nikan was about to escape, he managed to rush out from the roadside.

It was also Nikan's bad luck. There were at least a dozen soldiers riding war horses among the fleeing soldiers, but he was the first to ride and was targeted by Xiang Rensheng.

What happened next was simple. Nikan, who was only concerned with escaping, didn't pay any attention to the situation on his side. Under the heavy attack, the warhorse under his crotch immediately fell to the ground. Xiang Rensheng didn't know if he couldn't tell the difference between the Tartar armor, but seeing that the man had been pinned down by the dead body of the warhorse, he dropped it and turned to pounce on others.

The so-called defeat is like a mountain collapsing.

With the rush of the guards, the 800 bannermen led by Nikan had no chance of escaping. Even if a few of them took advantage of the opportunity to escape back to the camp, it would not have any impact on the outcome of the battle.

At this time, Nikan, who was still pinned down by the warhorse, watched helplessly as one soldier after another was beaten to death by the heavy attack. He knew very well what was waiting for him.

"He is Nikan!"

The battle was coming to an end, and Hu Maozhen, who had gone around in circles, finally arrived at the battlefield.

After checking all the fallen horses, he finally found the real target.

"Is this Nikan?"

Hearing Hu Maozhen's shout, Xiang Rensheng couldn't help but move closer. He had heard this name from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince more than once, and he knew very well that this man was highly valued by His Royal Highness.

But now Nikan was covered in mud and didn't look like a commander of an army at all, so he couldn't help but think that this was the case.

"Master Xiang, I wonder how we should deal with this enemy chief?"

"Huh? Ask me?"

"You are someone close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I hope you can give me some pointers."

Hearing this, Xiang Rensheng was a little confused.

Since following Zhu Cilang, he had indeed received considerable courtesy in front of the gentlemen, but he had never had such a high-ranking official ask him to help make a decision.

"Didn't His Highness ask you to take Nikan's head? Sir General, take it yourself."

Thinking of Zhu Cilang’s arrangement that night, Xiang Rensheng said it casually.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he felt Hu Maozhen stuff something into his hand.

"It's just a small thought, just a small thought."

Just when Xiang Rensheng was still wondering what this "little thought" was, he heard a clanging sound from the warhorse. When he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw that Nikan had already slashed his neck with the sword.

What a good thing!

(End of this chapter)