Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 492: Catch this old man with me
what to do? !

what to do?!!
Looking at the fleeing soldiers pouring in like the sea outside the city, this was the only thought left in Hong Chengchou's mind.

Earlier, when Tong Yangjia's body was carried back by his mount, Lekedehun immediately went out of the city to command the battle. Afterwards, he ordered people to control Hongguang while making various arrangements on the city wall. It was completely unlike the sudden death of the main general of the previous army.

After all, the infantry were still besieging the Ming army camp, and the gun array outside had been arranged. As long as someone could take command in a short period of time, the impact of the main general's death would be minimized.

This idea is not wrong, and it does not seem to be difficult to implement. However, Tong Yangjia's accidental death was just a small accident. What really had a huge impact on the battle situation was the successive sniping of the supervision team.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened next. The experienced Lekedehun discovered this situation as soon as he arrived at the front. However, his order to mobilize more troops had not yet been passed back, and the formation that had been held for a long time completely collapsed at this moment.

Things had come to this point and there was no way the situation could be reversed. When a large number of defeated soldiers appeared outside the city of Huai'an, Hong Chengchou, who was full of wisdom and strategies, lost his previous composure.

Fight, can't beat.

Huai'an had sent out all its best troops, but in the end it inexplicably ended up with a direct defeat.

After today, there is no need to talk about how many cannon fodders can be saved, even the gunners may not be left.

Under such circumstances, what chances of winning would we have if we forced ourselves to go to war?
But I can't defend it.

The troops that had fallen from the north of the Huanghuai area were all defeated in one battle. Even if some of them could be gathered back, it would be difficult to drive them to attack the Ming army camp.

Without these troops, the situation would become the same as before. The Ming army would delay some troops today and add more the day after tomorrow. When the earthen platform is built, Huai'an City would be broken.

If it was the gain or loss of an ordinary city, it would not cause the important officials of these two countries to lose their composure like this, but all the arrangements in Huai'an were made by Dorgon. Once the land and troops were lost, there would definitely be an uproar in the court.

By then, there is no need to talk about whether the various armies have the courage to fight the Ming army again. Even such a wave of turmoil can plunge the regime that has just entered the Central Plains into continued chaos.

Hong Chengchou thought over and over again, but still didn't know how to deal with the current situation. When waves of crying and wailing continued to come, he suddenly had an idea.

"Bring Hongguang up."

As the news spread, soldiers went to deliver the message, and he turned his attention back to the outside of the city.

At this time, the area outside Huai'an City was completely occupied by densely packed fleeing soldiers, and further away, there were many more black spots constantly pouring in.

He knew that there would not be many casualties in battle, and the real losses would occur during the pursuit.

If the city gates were opened at this time to allow the fleeing soldiers into the city, the losses could be minimized. However, he really didn't dare to do so.

How did Tong Yangjia die?

Not sure.

How did we lose before?

Not clear either.

The current situation is unclear. If the Ming army has infiltrated these defeated soldiers,
He understood that the battle in Huaidong had no suspense at this point. Unless the imperial court could mobilize a large number of elite troops from the north, it would only be a matter of time before the two Huai regions were lost.

But sitting and waiting for death is not his style. If he can buy some more time, he might be able to gain some benefits for the court.

How could we take the risk of letting the fleeing soldiers enter the city under such circumstances?

When this thought came to his mind, Hong Chengchou became ruthless. He gave an order and a rain of arrows immediately fell on the fleeing soldiers.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Waves of arrows poured down from the top of the city like a black storm, with sharp whistling sounds. They penetrated the air in a moment and went straight into the group of fleeing soldiers.

Honestly speaking, Hong Chengchou's original intention was just to disperse them, but the war situation took a sudden turn for the worse, and even he, the "Prime Minister" of the Ming Dynasty, was thrown into confusion, let alone ordinary generals.

Things got to this point, and the rain of arrows, which was not very dense to begin with, became accurate because of the number of fleeing soldiers outside the city. Then one soldier after another fell to the ground, and streams of blood immediately dyed the soil outside the city bright red.

Seeing this situation, the smarter ones fled in other directions without thinking too much, while those who reacted slower were trying to avoid attacks from the city. While there was complete chaos below the city, there was actually a man on horseback who kept shouting towards the city.

"Prime Minister! Don't shoot!
It’s me! Bai Yongfu! "

The shouts were eventually drowned out by the continuous howlings, and did not slow down the rain of arrows from the city. Just as he was watching his soldiers being knocked down by the rain of arrows with a look of heartache, the reins in his hands were suddenly snatched away by Li Benshen, and he was pulled away from the city wall by him.

"What the hell are you yelling about!"

As he heard a scolding, Bai Yongfu's sight finally came into focus again.

He knew that it was impossible to open the city gates under such circumstances, and he tried to lead the fleeing soldiers in other directions when they were retreating.

But he didn't understand. It was obviously just to disperse the fleeing army, so why did the people on the city take such a fatal blow?
"Admiral, why are they doing this?!"

As a person who had been sold several times in Jiangnan, Li Benshen could easily imagine what everyone in the city was thinking.

After all, neither the Han Eight Banners nor the Manchu Eight Banners took the lives of these people seriously.

If it were an ordinary time, they might be able to maintain the appearance, but once the critical moment came, no matter what the top few people thought, the first reaction of ordinary generals would be to disperse the fleeing soldiers outside the city as soon as possible.

"I might as well tell you that I've been thrown off several times in Jiangnan. You're just driving away the defeated soldiers. You'll get used to it."

Facing the tragic scene outside Huai'an City, Li Benshen was unusually calm. On the other hand, Bai Yongfu, who was fighting under the Qing army for the first time, looked incredulous. He even argued as the other party finished speaking: "There is a prime minister on the city wall, how could it be possible?"

"Prime Minister? He is an important official of the Manchus, and you are just..." Li Benshen paused, apparently recalling something: "Aha, yes, that is Aha, you and I are just Aha, but we cannot be called prime ministers."

After hearing these words, Bai Yongfu immediately fell silent, obviously knowing what Aha meant.

In a word, the Qing army's contempt for the Ming army was fostered by a series of easy victories. Even though the current Ming army had already made the Tartars fearful to some extent, it had nothing to do with Li Benshen and Bai Yongfu, who had long since surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. As they talked, the two of them had already circled to the other side of Huai'an. At this time, Li Benshen quietly gave a few instructions to the general beside him, and when he saw Bai Yongfu looking at him with great confusion, he smiled and said.

"I won't hide it from you. We were captured once when we were covering the Tartars' retreat. If my aunt and cousin were not still in their hands, we would have surrendered." Li Benshen paused for a moment, and after looking at the other party's extremely shocked face, he simply said, "After this defeat, I think the Tartars will not be around for a few days. Why don't we just surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"

The words can be expressed in two parts.

Just as the fleeing soldiers in Hong Chengchou's eyes were gradually becoming fewer and fewer due to the rain of arrows, the Ming army that had been chasing them all the way also appeared in his sight.

Seeing this, he ordered his men to shoot arrows outside the city with all their might, while at the same time he kept asking whether Hongguang had been brought there.

He understood clearly that since the war situation had developed to this point, there would be no suspense about the matter of Huaidong, and the ownership of the two Huai regions would be difficult to change. But at the same time, he also knew that this defeat would have a huge impact on the court situation, and as an important official of the court, he had to give it another try.

"Send someone out of the city and tell them that I want to speak to the general leading the troops."

"Prime Minister! This..."

"Go!"

Seeing that their prime minister was so determined, the general beside him gritted his teeth and went straight out of the city, while Hong Chengchou stared at the Ming army that was constantly approaching in the distance, and no one knew what he was thinking.

It was unknown how long it took before the general who left the city brought back the news that the Ming army agreed to meet. After a long while, the two sides finally agreed on a meeting place, and the "Prime Minister" of the Ming Dynasty then went out of the city with more than a dozen guards.

There was nothing clever in his plan; he just wanted to sell Hongguang for a good price.

In the final analysis, Hongguang's existence has always been a threat to Zhu Cilang, and this matter is of great importance, so the generals at the front must go to Yingtian to ask for instructions.

In this way, the progress of the Ming army's siege would inevitably be delayed because of this incident, and they would be able to calmly arrange their retreat. As for whether they could rely on this person to make other plans,
I'm afraid I can only do my best.

As his thoughts turned, several knights came out of the formation. When they were about ten steps away from Hong Chengchou, the Ming knights reined in their horses, and then a loud shout was heard.

"Is this the commander-in-chief Hong who was offered sacrifices at the Sixteen Altars by the late emperor?"

When he heard these words, even though Hong Chengchou was ready to die for the Qing Dynasty, his face turned red. However, this situation was also within his expectations, and the redness disappeared in an instant.

"I am here to discuss important matters concerning your emperor. If you are only willing to engage in verbal disputes, please send someone who knows the seriousness of the matter."

"Oh, I'm really disappointed Commander Hong. All of us in the Ming Dynasty would rather die than surrender. We have always looked down on those who sell out our country for personal gain and those who create trouble for two masters. If the commander-in-chief is referring to you, then I really can't find anyone like you in the Ming Dynasty."

Seeing the person on the other side remained silent because of his words, Chang Guanlin smiled contemptuously.

He is a warrior from the Nine Frontiers, but that doesn't mean he can't understand the current situation.

In the final analysis, winning this battle means he has achieved the final victory in the battle of Huaidong. Even if the Qing army still wants to resist here, he can use artillery to blast open the walls of Huai'an by the same method he used earlier.

By then, it goes without saying that we will seize the place where the three rivers meet, and Lianghuai and Nanyang will also belong to the hands of the Ming Dynasty. However, this traitor actually talked about important matters at this time. If he didn't want to ridicule him, he would not bother to come and see this shameless guy.

There is nothing wrong with this idea, but his vision was ultimately limited by his background, and he was unable to look at the relationship between the Ming and Qing dynasties beyond the battlefield. At this moment, Hong Chengchou's light words came to his whisper, and then he froze in place.

"I intend to send Hongguang back to Ming."

Hongguang?

Return to Ming?

During this year and more, the Ming Dynasty, under the leadership of Zhu Cilang, completely reversed the situation in the world. Even though everyone knew that there was such a figure in Huai'an, they subconsciously put him behind their minds.

But this does not affect Chang Guanlin's awareness of the other party's importance.

There is no need to say much about the various situations during the Southern Song Dynasty as told by storytellers. Our dynasty has such a living example right before our eyes. If the Tartars really want to send that waste back, do you really want Your Majesty to keep him in the palace?
As the thoughts turned, Chang Guanlin fell silent, but Hong Chengchou laughed heartily and then started talking to the other side.

"I see that the general seems reluctant to take in this poor man who was deprived of the throne. In this case, I will not force him. It is only a piece of cake to keep him in the Qing Dynasty. However, this person has cost a lot, and I don't know what your emperor will give to compensate our dynasty for the loss."

"Shameless! You are a treacherous, traitorous villain! You don't even know how the late emperor entrusted you with military and national affairs!"

As he heard more and more shouts and curses, Hong Chengchou's resentment disappeared. At this point he knew that the general was under his control, so he laughed and shouted.

"I also know that you, a small general, are not capable of handling such a major matter. How about I give you some time, and then you can report to Yingtian and then decide whether Hongguang should stay or go?"

hate!

anger!
Helpless!

anxious!
All kinds of emotions gathered in Chang Guanlin's heart, leaving this veteran on the battlefield speechless.

He knew that the other party wanted to use Hongguang to control him, and he also understood that Your Majesty was in the prime of his life and had boundless prestige, so such dirty tricks would not cause much waves.

No matter what, it would still cause trouble if this thing was brought back to Yingtian. Moreover, His Majesty has offended many people. If something really happened because of this, how could he feel at ease?

As his thoughts turned, Chang Guanlin couldn't help but cast his gaze towards Huai'an City. When he saw a bright yellow figure, he immediately had an idea.

It would be better to let Chen Si kill him directly. At worst, I will take the blame.

not.

If that guy were to die in our hands, I'm afraid there would be some criticism in the court. By then, a rough man like me wouldn't be much of a deal, and I'm just afraid that those rotten people would throw dirty water on Your Majesty.

After several twists and turns of thoughts, Chang Guanlin was still at a loss as to what to do.

Things had come to this point, and all he could do was report the matter to His Majesty in secret. But when he was about to look away, he saw a sudden commotion on the city wall, and then the bright yellow figure fell down.

这 是
who cares.

"Someone, catch this old man for me!"

(End of this chapter)