The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 592: Siege of Gaizhou
On the seventh day of April in the twelfth year of the Hongguang reign, Koxinga left behind Shi Lang, Liu Guoxuan, Zhou Quanbin and other generals to assist the Southern Ming Jingying in continuing the fierce attack on Jinan. The main force of the Zheng army, numbering 200,000, took a short rest in Dengzhou and then set sail northward. Thousands of ships covered the sky and headed straight for southern Liaoning.

On April 11, vanguard Gan Hui arrived in Lushun and immediately launched a fierce attack on the Qi army in Lushun.

On the 12th, Zheng Chenggong led his army to detour to the west side of southern Liaoning and headed straight for Gaizhou.

On the 13th, Wan Li and Chen Kui led a part of the navy to bombard Huanggu Island Fort, an important town in southern Liaoning.

The 200,000-strong Zheng army launched a pincer attack from the east, central and west defense lines, intending to cut off southern Liaoning, divide the Qi headquarters into two halves, and annex them one by one.

On the 14th, Koxinga ordered the fleet to be on guard outside the Liaonan battlefield to guard against attacks from the Qi navy, while also protecting the families of the soldiers anchored in the Liaonan waters and being ready to pick them up at any time.

Among the 270,000 troops led by Koxinga in the Northern Expedition, more than 50,000 were actually soldiers' families, most of whom were the elderly, the weak, women and children.

Chen Yonghua, Zheng Chenggong's top adviser, once suggested to Koxinga that he should leave these families in Nanjing before going on the expedition, so as not to burden the army and delay the Northern Expedition. Since ancient times, there has been no precedent of bringing military families with him to fight and being successful.

Chen Yonghua's suggestion was recognized by many senior generals. However, after weighing the pros and cons, Koxinga finally chose to take his family with him on the northern expedition.

First, Zheng Sen, who was extremely suspicious, did not trust the Southern Ming court at all and was worried that the soldiers' families might become hostages of Zhu Changling.

Secondly, the Zheng army was mainly composed of pirates and was already disorganized. If the soldiers' families were left behind, many would probably escape during the Northern Expedition.
Finally, Zuo Liangyu still held an advantage in Southern Zhili. Judging by the current situation, Qi was imminently on the verge of collapse, and the cooperation between Prince Yanping and Duke Kunshan could be severed at any moment. Zuo and Zheng would then become sworn enemies, locked in a fierce struggle for supremacy. Zheng Chenggong could not rest assured leaving his family in Southern Zhili.

On the 15th, he personally landed on the western part of southern Liaoning to inspect the terrain.

On the 16th, Koxinga began to deploy landing and garrison locations in various towns.

On the 17th, Zheng's army intercepted a letter for help sent by Gaizhou defender Huang Delun to Shenyang and Huguang.

Huang Delun (with the courtesy name Zhou Jie) was a former Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty. His native place was Jiangxi Province. He later joined the army and was a second-generation general of the Qi State. He is currently the deputy commander of the Second Corps and a capable subordinate of Deng Changxiong.

This time he led 3,000 soldiers to garrison the two cities of Gaizhou and Yaozhou. He was outnumbered and his life was in danger.

Huang Delun pleaded for help in his letter, hoping that the emperor who was on an expedition to Huguang could allocate some troops to assist southern Liaoning.

I hope the Shenyang court can send more reinforcements and food to strengthen Gaizhou’s defense.

Otherwise, southern Liaoning will repeat the mistakes of Jianghuai and be destroyed overnight.

After reading the two letters asking for help, Zheng Chenggong said to his generals with great pride:
"Such an important city, but only three or four thousand men are sent to guard it. It seems that as Duke Kunshan said, Qi State is now a house made of paper. Just one kick will make it collapse. I will write a letter to Huang Delun, and Gaizhou will surrender!"

On the 19th, the Zheng army’s central camp was stationed three miles south of Gaizhou City.

That night, Zheng army archers shot a letter into Gaizhou City. In it, Guoxingye urged Huang Delun to surrender immediately. An excerpt from the letter is as follows:
General Huang, I'm so glad you're safe! General, you're the bravest of the three armies, your talent is unparalleled. In the past, you seized opportunities, met a wise leader, and achieved great success. How magnificent! How could you commit yourself to the armies of Jie and Zhou, to become the enemy of the world, to tremble at the sound of arrows, and to kneel before the tent? How despicable!
When the general left, it was not for any other reason, but simply because he failed to examine himself internally, and accepted rumors from outside, he indulged himself and became rampant, leading to this situation. This king, following the imperial edict, attacked Qi, pardoned sins and rewarded merits, discarded flaws and promoted talents, and extended his sincerity to the world, so how could he be so indifferent to all things? What the general knows, I do not need to talk to him a little. ·······
Liu the Great has usurped Liaodong for eighteen years, his evil deeds piling up, drawing the wrath of both Heaven and Earth. Furthermore, he is a hypocrite, a fool, a cunning man, disunited and disloyal, slaughtering each other, forcing his tribes to flee, and his chieftains to resentment. He should be impaled in the barbarian's residence, his head hung in the streets, while the general swims like a fish in a boiling pot and a swallow nesting on a flying curtain. Isn't that a bit disorienting?
In late spring, in March, the grass grows long south of the Yangtze River, flowers bloom on the trees, and warblers fly in all directions. Seeing the flags and drums of my homeland, I recall my life in the distant past. I play the zither and ascend the city walls. How can I not feel sorrow?

That is why Lord Lian missed the Zhao general and the Prince of Wu wept at Xihe. These are human emotions. Is the general alone without any emotion? I hope you will cultivate good principles early and wish for your own good fortune. You should carefully consider this.

After reading this letter, which was a complete copy of Qiu Chi's letter persuading Chen Bozhi to surrender, Huang Delun also wrote a reply to Zheng Chenggong, but the specific content of their communication is unknown.

On the 21st, Zheng's army began to station troops at the gates of Gaizhou's outer city.

From the 21st to the 26th, the Zheng army did not make any moves to attack the city.

On the 26th, the Qi army attacked the left vanguard camp from Fengyi Gate and was repelled. The Zheng army still did not launch a general attack on Gaizhou.

Perhaps Zheng Chenggong was still waiting for Huang Delun to surrender himself.

On the 27th, various admirals and generals, led by Wu Hao, the rear commander of Xuanyi, successively approached Guoxingye and requested him to attack the city as soon as possible.

In the southwest of Gaizhou, at the Zheng army's main tent, Guoxingye slammed the table and stood up, angrily shouting to a group of his generals:

"A quick battle is a pedantic idea! Haven't you heard that the best way to attack is to attack the enemy's plans, and the worst way to attack the city? Gaizhou, the gateway to southern Liaoning, has been cultivated by Liu Zhaosun for many years. The city is tall and majestic, easy to defend but difficult to attack. The eighty red-haired cannons I purchased from Macau will not arrive until tomorrow. Attacking now will only result in heavy casualties! What will we do if our army's morale is shaken? Moreover, Liaodong is vast, and Liu's bandits are scattered all over the place. Our army is not good at land warfare, and our cavalry is inferior. How can we sweep across Liaodong? Therefore, I will surround the city without attacking, waiting for Liu's reinforcements to gather in Gaizhou, and then I will invite them in and kill them! Achieving success in one battle, wouldn't that be wonderful!"

After Zheng Chenggong finished his speech, he suddenly asked his generals, "Do you know how the northerners make dumplings?"

The generals were talking a lot.

Wu Hao, the commander of Xuanwu Houyi Town, said, "Prince Yanping, Zhao Lujiao is still resisting stubbornly in Jinan and Linqing. The outcome of the battle in Shandong is uncertain. The Qi navy led by Wu Aheng has been missing for a long time, either hiding in Pi Island, Korea, or lurking in a harbor in southern Liaoning. Our army has landed in southern Liaoning for many days but has made no progress and has not killed or injured many Qi troops. If the Shandong reinforcements move north and the Qi army in western Liaoning advances east, and Wu Aheng cuts off our navy's retreat again, I'm afraid it won't just be us who are defeated, but we will become the dumplings."

Han Ying, the commander of the garrison, advised, "When General Zheng (Zheng Zhilong) was in power, he battled Wu Ahheng many times, with neither side winning. I heard they acquired eight new ships last year, each with 120 guns. Their power should not be underestimated! As a general, caution is paramount."

Zheng Chenggong snorted, his face filled with disdain. "Wu Aheng is a defeated general under my command. He could have defeated my father, but I defeated him at Zhoushan! If we can capture Gaizhou, the main force of the Qi army will be destroyed. Then, we can advance east and west, take Liaonan, and pacify Liaodong. What good will Wu Aheng's eighty warships then be? Everyone, don't lose the big picture for the sake of the small! Let's attack Gaizhou first. I have my own plans for the Qi navy. If he doesn't come, it's fine. But if he does, we'll have someone to deal with him!"

Commander Feng Ying was from Jiangxi Province, a fellow townsman of Huang Delun. He whispered:
"Huang Delun is a trusted general of Qi State. His family is all in Shenyang. He is a relative of Liu Jing, the former commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty. He is extremely loyal to Liu Zhaosun. It will probably be difficult to get him to surrender."

The other generals wanted to persuade him, but Koxinga stood up and said:

"Two hundred thousand troops have gathered in southern Liaoning. Life and death hang in the balance! Without a foolproof plan, how can we fight recklessly? After this battle, the only one left to challenge us for supremacy is Zuo Liangyu. If our army is severely damaged and suffers casualties for no reason, we will be paving the way for others! You can't wait any longer!"

"Order all troops to be at full alert. Those who disobey will be executed! In three days, the Red Barbarian cannon will arrive. Attack the city immediately!"

(End of this chapter)