Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 288 Encirclement and Suppression of Chongqing
In Changshou County, Chongqing Prefecture, about 60 kilometers from Chongqing, Ao Bai's main force continued to advance.

The journey from Yichang, Hubei to Chongqing, Sichuan is over 500 kilometers, but traveling by water is faster.

According to historical records, if the weather and hydrology were normal, it would generally take about 10-20 days to travel upstream from Yichang to Chongqing.

However, it would be even faster to travel from Chongqing to Yichang, relying on the Yangtze River waterway, which would take only two or three days, or even one day if the wind was favorable.

This point was mentioned in Li Bai's poem "Departing from Baidi City at Dawn".

It's not slow by land either.

Normally, even if there are many mountain roads, if you walk 20 kilometers a day, it will take more than 20 days to reach your destination.

For the ethnic minorities living in the Three Gorges area, walking on mountain roads is like walking on flat ground. They can walk forty or fifty kilometers a day, and it will take them at most ten days.

For example, Qin Liangyu's Stone Pillar Soldiers were famous for their endurance and ability to easily traverse mountains and valleys.

However, Ao Bai's army advanced at a snail's pace of more than ten kilometers per day. They arrived in Hubei in mid-August and took more than a month to reach Chongqing in October, averaging less than ten kilometers per day.

They've even become disconnected.

The vanguard has reached Jiangbei in Chongqing and set up camp, the central army is in the Changshou-Fengdu area, and the rearguard and a large amount of logistics and supplies are still in Zhongzhou.

That is to say, General Qin Liangyu has now passed away, and her nephew Qin Yiming and grandson Ma Wannian surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in the sixteenth year of the Shunzhi reign. Otherwise, if the Shizhu chieftain had launched an attack, Aobai's logistics troops would have been in serious trouble.

As night fell, Ao Bai camped out in Changshou.

At this moment, in his temporary residence at the Changshou County government office, Ao Bai was discussing matters with more than ten civil officials and military officers.

Besides Zhao Tingchen, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, and Lin Tianqing, the Governor of Yunnan, there were also Zhang Changgeng, the Governor-General of Huguang, Yang Maoxun, the Governor of Hubei, and Ding Sikong, the newly appointed Governor of Pianyuan after Yuan Kuoyu's death.

Among the military generals were Ao Bai's younger brother, Mulima, who was also the commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner; Tuhai, the commander of the Plain Yellow Banner; Echu, the deputy commander; Basiha, the general who protected the country; Alai, the chief of the Gushan Banner; Alashan, the chief of the Gushan Banner; Biliketu, the commander of the Plain Blue Banner of Mongolia, and so on.

Basically, neither Han Chinese civil officials nor Han Chinese military officers were qualified to enter.

Even Zhao Tingchen and others were from the Han Eight Banners of Liaodong, and their status was only one grade lower than that of the Manchu Eight Banners and the Mongol Eight Banners, and much higher than that of the civil and military officials who surrendered after the Manchus entered the pass.

By the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign, the system of princes deliberating on state affairs before and after the conquest of China was gradually weakened. In the power conflict between the imperial power and the princes' deliberation on state affairs, the Shunzhi Emperor suppressed the banner leaders of the Eight Banners.

Military power was gradually transferred to the Eight Banners Commanders, while the Banner Chiefs were given high positions but no actual military power, thus allowing non-royal Manchus to begin leading troops into battle.

It was at this time that Ao Bai began to distinguish himself and gradually rose to the position of one of the four regents.

However, it was precisely because Shunzhi died young that, although the power of the princes to discuss politics was weakened, the influence of the Council of Ministers began to rise again.

The so-called Council of Ministers was the meeting of the princes in the early days, in which other Manchu and Han ministers, such as Fan Wencheng, Ning Wanwo, Xifu, and Sony, served as advisors and helped to come up with ideas.

When the council of princes was abolished, these advisors, who served as assistants, gradually became the core of the council, and were mainly Manchus. This led to the emergence of the four regents: Sony, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi.

It wasn't until after Emperor Kangxi assumed personal rule and established the Southern Study, that he gradually began to appoint Han Chinese officials and transfer power to the Grand Secretariat. This resolved the political system, which was centered on Manchus and included the Council of Princes and the Council of Ministers, and that could potentially threaten imperial power.

However, before this, because Shunzhi died young and Kangxi was only eight years old, both political and military power were in the hands of Sony and others. From the banner chiefs down, there were very few members of the imperial family who served as military commanders with real power in the Manchu Eight Banners army.

Therefore, among the Manchu military generals here, only Basha was Daishan's grandson; the rest were not from the Aisin Gioro clan.

In addition, there were some Manchu generals who were not here, but were serving as military supervisors, stationed in the front and rear of Aobai's army to oversee the Han Chinese Green Standard Army troops.

At this moment, Ao Bai sat high in the main seat, his expression extremely unpleasant.

Although Wu Sangui carried out his orders, that guy actually neglected military orders. He was ordered to immediately march south to encircle Chongqing, but instead he marched only a few kilometers a day, and even occasionally went in circles, mainly dragging his feet.

The reasons he gave were also quite plausible, saying that his troops were too large and bloated, and that the troops had just suffered a defeat and their morale was low, which was why the march was slow.

Ao Bai was so angry that his teeth itched. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Wu Sangui, that southern barbarian, is a complete scoundrel who can turn on you two at the same time. Even at this point, he still dares to disobey my order to advance! I curse him!"

Murima then said, "Ah Hun, I knew those southern barbarians were untrustworthy. Give me 30,000 men, and I will go immediately to kill that villain Wu Sangui."

"Commander!"

Zhao Tingchen hurriedly said, "With a formidable enemy at hand, we must not allow internal strife to occur."

"What if that scoundrel Wu Sangui surrenders again and attacks us while we are attacking Chongqing?"

“Indeed, that southern barbarian has always harbored rebellious intentions. In order to appease him, the late emperor granted him all military and political power in the southwest, and now he has hundreds of thousands of followers. At this time, he probably wants to be a weather vane again, swaying whichever way the wind blows.”

"I think he's just waiting for the right price, that damned southern barbarian. In my opinion, attacking him now is probably not a good idea, but we can cut off his food supplies. Without food, he'll have no choice but to obey orders."

Several Manchu generals discussed the matter animatedly.

Their distrust of Han people is almost ingrained in their bones.

Zhao Tingchen laughed and said, "Gentlemen, there is no need to worry. The Han emperor in the southwest has already issued a kill order. Wu Sangui will be executed along with his entire clan, and will be subjected to slow slicing. As the saying goes, 'If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,' Wu Sangui surely understands this principle."

Lin Tianqing thought for a moment and analyzed, "I think he was terrified by Ming Nie's fighting strength."

He then smiled wryly and said, "To be honest, Your Excellency, I am still trembling with fear. At that time, I only saw countless black bullets falling into the city, explosions were everywhere, and the city gates were all blown down."

"impossible."

Ding Sikong frowned and said, "Judging from the description, it sounds like a poison fire cannon, but how could such a thing have such great power?"

"That's what we think too. Moreover, the Ming spies' cannons are not only powerful, but also have an extremely long range. The red-coated cannons we deployed in Kunming couldn't even touch the hem of their clothes."

Lin Tianqing shook his head and said, "I suspect that these are new cannons that Zheng Chenggong purchased from the Franks. If they have a large number of cannons, it may be difficult for them to take Chongqing."

After saying this, he glanced cautiously at Ao Bai, having already put it quite tactfully. Based on the power of the mortars they had witnessed firsthand, if there were enough shells, let alone capturing Chongqing, even victory would be questionable.

"Well"

Ao Bai's face was ashen, and he remained silent.

After a while, Zhao Tingchen said again, "Grand Tutor, I think we should first send someone to Wu Sangui to explain the advantages and disadvantages, and to explain the principle of mutual dependence. The Ming rebels are coming with great force, and the people of Jiangnan are restless. If we do not concentrate our strength, it will be difficult to succeed."

Zhang Changgeng pondered and said, "I'm afraid this scoundrel wants to sit back and watch the tigers fight, only to be utterly defeated by the Ming traitors. In this siege, we will definitely send the Green Standard Army to attack first, because he doesn't want to lose any men."

"That's the estimate."

"Hmph, those southern barbarians are only fit to be foot soldiers."

"It would be better to force him to attack first, which would wear down the enemy's forces."

"Then let's send someone to talk to him first."

Ao Bai felt a headache coming on after hearing what his clansmen said.

They didn't come up with many good ideas, but they certainly had beautiful thoughts.

It's important to understand that this is not a time when they are strong and the Ming are weak.

In the past, they were so powerful that Wu Sangui was forced to be the vanguard in their attacks.

Now it seems the Ming traitors have become powerful, possessing the ability to fight against their Great Qing.

Wu Sangui wasn't stupid.

They could simply sit back and watch the fight, obeying orders but not commands.

After all, at this critical juncture, it wouldn't be good if they and Wu Sangui started fighting amongst themselves.

Ming Nie will definitely laugh himself to death then.

So his brainless clansmen, including his brother, are truly speechless.

In other words, Ao Bai was indeed very capable in military affairs. If a brainless military commander had been replaced, he might have actually coerced Wu Sangui, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

At that moment, Ao Bai immediately sent someone to explain the advantages and disadvantages to Wu Sangui and urged Wu Sangui to advance and complete the encirclement of Chongqing as soon as possible.

A few more days passed.

Just as Ao Bai was staying in Changshou Township waiting for all the remaining troops to arrive and sending people to find Wu Sangui, the Qing army that had arrived and was stationed on the north bank of the Jialing River also sent over the situation.

The vanguard was led by Dorobele Aisin Gioro Lanbu and Gushanbeizi Aisin Gioro Shangshan.

In the official document, Lanbu and Shangshan stated that the Ming army numbered at least tens of thousands, and sometimes more than one hundred thousand. They were beating drums and gongs on the opposite bank every day, making a ruckus and clamoring for the Qing army to attack, and asking Aobai if he would send troops.

On this point, Lambu and Shangshan actually disagreed.

Lamb is younger and more impulsive, and plans to send the Green Standard Army to launch an attack on the other side of the strait.

Shang Shan, being mature and prudent, suspected foul play and intervened.

Upon seeing this, Aobai summoned Zhao Tingchen and others to discuss the matter, wanting to ask the Ming army what they meant by this.

They were now at Shichuan Town, about 40 kilometers north of the river. The Qing army was marching slowly, mainly waiting for the arrival of the rear guard and supplies.

They arrived here yesterday and are waiting for more supplies to arrive, so they plan to stay for a few days. Ao Bai set up camp here to wait for the army.

Inside the tent, everyone gathered. Ao Bai looked at Zhao Tingchen, told everyone what had happened, and asked, "How is it?"

"Grand Tutor, I believe this must be a scheme to lure us in."

Before Zhao Tingchen could speak, Lin Tianqing said, "The Ming traitors think they have victory in their grasp and are trying to win in one battle by luring us to attack."

"If they thought they had victory in their grasp, why would they make such a big show of force, as if they were intimidating us?" Ao Bai frowned.

Huang Taiji was a fan of the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Back then, it was required that every general have a copy, study it every day, and use it directly as a military manual.

Ao Bai had naturally seen it as well.

The current situation of the Ming army reminded him of Zhuge Liang's Empty City Stratagem.

If they could really defeat them, why send so many people to the shore to beat drums and gongs?
It looks like they're all show and no substance, just putting on a show.

"Forehead"

Lin Tianqing was taken aback; it seemed to make sense.

"Could it be that Ming Nie's artillery shells are running out, making them strong enough to defend the city but not strong enough to attack it? They're afraid that our siege will drag on for too long and they'll run out of supplies, so they're trying to scare us?"

"That's possible. The Ming dynasty only covers the two provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou. Even if they seize Wu Sangui's grain supplies, how long can they hold out?"

"But."

"But what?"

Seeing the hesitant expression on Zhang Changgeng's face, Ao Bai immediately asked.

"But is it really just a simple attempt to scare us?"

Zhang Changgeng hesitated and said, "I always feel that there are some conspiracies involved that we cannot understand."

"Zhao Tingchen, what do you have to say?"

Ao Bai asked again.

Zhao Tingchen was someone whom Hong Chengchou had high hopes for, and he had originally planned to bring Hong Chengchou with him on this trip.

But at this time, Hong Chengchou was already seventy years old and riddled with illness, walking with a shaky gait, let alone coming over to help advise.

Therefore, Zhao Tingchen can be considered the de facto strategist of this expedition.

Zhao Tingchen identified the key issue and said, "If the Ming traitors can defeat us, they don't need to bluff; they can just attack directly. There must be a reason why they're doing this so early. I don't think they're trying to scare us; they're just stalling for time."

"Delaying for time?"

"Indeed, sir, think about it, what is Jiangnan like now?"

"I see."

Ao Bai immediately understood.

The people of Jiangnan are now unsettled due to the influence of the leaflets, and it is said that Zheng Chenggong intends to lead his troops north.

If their attack drags on and they fail to capture Jiangnan, then it's quite clear that something bad might happen to Jiangnan.

When the people of Jiangnan see the Qing government's incompetence, uprisings will break out everywhere. In addition, with Zheng Chenggong causing trouble, the military forces in Jiangnan may not be able to suppress them.

Clearly, Chongqing also has its own agenda.

"There's a capable person on the other side; they actually managed to predict this far."

"We underestimated them. If we cannot capture Chongqing immediately and suppress the unrest, Jiangnan will indeed be prone to trouble."

"Grand Tutor, it seems we must take Chongqing as soon as possible."

Everyone was talking about it.

This is a political matter, and people with low political awareness might not even think of it.

In fact, this was also a calculated move by Zhu De.

When I send people over, your first thought will be that we're playing a ruse to lure you in, or that we're just bluffing.

The second layer of understanding would only think that we are stalling for time, waiting for things to change in Jiangnan.

But Old Zhu was on the third floor.

That means sending people to create a ruckus, to make you think we're playing the empty city tactic, to make you think we're stalling for time.

After all, once this move was made, the Qing army would not dare to launch a large-scale attack and would inevitably send the Green Standard Army to probe.

However, such a test will definitely take a long time, like adding oil to a lamp, to find out the truth.

But the Qing dynasty couldn't wait.

If Chongqing cannot be captured in a day, there is a risk of widespread chaos and conflict in the Jiangnan region.

Therefore, Ao Bai had to act quickly and decisively.

So, with Zhu Yuanzhang feigning weakness and using the Empty City Stratagem, Ao Bai and his men would think that the Ming army was probably only doing this because they couldn't defeat them.

In this way, they dared to confidently mobilize all their troops and come to Chongqing to die.

It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang had considered all aspects of military and political strategy in this move. As long as he sent someone to spread the word, Ao Bai would definitely fall into the trap.

Instead of sending people to make the shore quieter, it was like the calm before the storm, making the Qing army hesitant to attack rashly. Even under pressure from Jiangnan, they would only send people at most, and once they discovered the Ming army's true firepower, they would definitely flee.

This is detrimental to Zhu De's strategic approach of aiming for a decisive victory in the first battle.

Therefore, it was a mix of truth and falsehood, half real and half fake. He used the political situation in Jiangnan to create a false impression of delay, concealing his true intention to annihilate the Qing army—this was Zhu Yuanzhang's political tactic.

of course.

The prerequisite is that Zhu De possessed the firepower to annihilate the Qing army.

Otherwise, the strategy is a joke.

But it's clear that Aobai didn't think the Ming army could annihilate them either. This was purely a matter of perception, even if Zhao Tingchen told him about the power of mortars.

Therefore, based on Zhao Tingchen's analysis, Ao Bai immediately made a decision: "Send an order to have all troops advance towards Chongqing immediately. I want to surround Chongqing and not let a single Ming rebel escape!"

"Yes!"

The guards should immediately go and relay the order.

"The meeting is adjourned. Let's set off immediately."

Ao Bai continued.

"Then I shall take my leave."

The group bowed and left the tent.

After emerging from the tent, Zhao Tingchen and the others walked slowly through the camp.

"I don't know why, but something just feels off."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just have this feeling."

Zhang Changgeng, Yang Maoxun, and Ding Sikong chatted for a few minutes.

Zhao Tingchen shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Me too, but I really can't think of anything Ming Nie is planning besides stalling for time. They can't possibly be trying to gather us all in Chongqing and defeat us all, can they?"

"Even if the real Ming Taizu were to be resurrected, he probably couldn't do it. Unless they had countless poisonous fire cannons like those, but if that were the case, why bother with all that noise and bravado?"

Lin Tianqing also said, "Bombarding the north bank will surely break through Lord Dorobele and his forces. The soldiers may even roll back, causing a large-scale rout that will injure our central and rear armies, allowing the Ming traitors to take advantage of the situation and launch an attack. If they don't do this, it will prove that they are weak."

"Ah."

The crowd agreed, nodded, and eventually dispersed.

no way.

This is indeed a limitation imposed on them by their cognitive abilities.

Who would have thought that mortars were the least powerful weapon in the Ming army's arsenal?

Old Zhu truly had the ability to kill them all.

For them, this was no ordinary method; it was a divine method.

They didn't believe that Old Zhu was really a god.

"I hope everything goes well."

Zhao Tingchen raised his head and thought of his mentor, Hong Chengchou.

If my mentor were here, I wonder if he would have considered more factors?
(End of this chapter)