Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 68: Betting on Both Sides
After the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China launched the Northern Expedition in Guangdong and the King of Jin launched the Northern Expedition in Yunnan, the Crown Prince of China, Constantine, launched the third Northern Expedition in Hongsawadi.

Just like Richard I the Lionheart during the Third Crusade, Crown Prince Constantine personally took to the battlefield, challenging the enemy general single-handedly to demonstrate his authority and bravery.

Crown Prince Constantine was as young and brave as Baldwin IV. He stood between the two armies, just as the True Cross made the Christian Murans submit devoutly and made the Chinese and Tatars bow down to him.

Zhu Cixuan's traveler, missionary Ferdinand Verbiest, recorded this in a letter to Europe about the defeat of the Tatars.

Nan Huairen paused slightly with the pen in his hand.

He looked at the Tatar general who was beating the prisoners again and again by the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, and forced the adopted son of the Prince of Pingxi to become brothers with him.

Continue writing.

Crown Prince Constantine possessed the same noble chivalry as Saladin of Muran, and was tolerant and kind.

Even the pagan Tatar general regarded him as a brother.

……

"we lose."

Wu Sangui sat in the lobby of the government office and sighed.

When Wang Fuchen was tied up and captured alive by the Ming army, he immediately sent two thousand people to rescue him.

Zhu Cixuan led a group of elite cavalrymen. After capturing the general alive, they turned around and left.

Wanting to catch up with Zhu Cixuan's heavy mount.

An elephant pulling a cart can run faster than a good horse.

Under the threat of artillery fire from the Ming army behind the wooden wall, Wang Fuchen could only watch as he was dragged into the "Great Wall" like a dog.

Wu Yingqi was very puzzled: "Father, although General Wang suffered a defeat and his morale is a bit low, we can't say we have lost."

Fighting with generals is not like in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where winning means victory in the war.

Otherwise, Li Dingguo would have defeated the two famous kings and would have recovered Huguang and western Guangxi long ago.

To be honest, Wu Yingqi also looked down on the four surnames' slaves who only had muscles.

The living Lu Bu has one more surname than Lu Bu.

Wang Fuchen's original surname was Li. He had joined the bandits with his brother-in-law earlier, and later killed his brother-in-law and defected to the Ming Dynasty.

In Jiang Ge's camp, he followed General Wang Jinchao and became his adopted son.

Later, he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, and then surrendered to the Qing Dynasty again, becoming a Xinzheku slave under the Baoyi slaves.

After Dorgon's death and Emperor Shunzhi took power, he was promoted to the first-class imperial guard and served as a military supervisor beside Hong Chengchou.

He served Hong Chengchou so well that he almost adopted him as his son.

Hong Chengchou didn't eat or wear clothes, and Wang Fuchen didn't eat or wear clothes either.

He often held the reins of Hong Chengchou's mount, and when he encountered muddy and slippery places, he would carry Hong on his back.

After pacifying Yunnan and Yunnan, Hong Chengchou asked the Qing court for the position of general-in-chief of the suppression campaign for Wang Fuchen, whom he was closer to than his own son.

When Wu Sangui was stationed in Yunnan and Yunnan, Wang Fuchen recognized him as his adoptive father.

Li, Wang, Hong and Wu are all his fathers.

For the three godfathers, let’s just call them Wang, Hong and Wu.

His prestige and ability in the army are higher than that of him, the son of Prince Pingxi.

How could Wu Yingqi like this sworn brother?

If Wu Yingqi knew that Wang Fuchen almost had the surname Zhu, he would definitely curse.

Wu Yingqi continued, "Besides, Wu Guogui and Ma Ning took a detour through the wooden wall, so it will take a few days to see the outcome."

Wu Sangui shook his head: "Do you think that with Zhu Cixuan's military power and his preparations, we can really surround and kill him in Mubang?"

"You don't understand the brave generals in the Shaanxi-Gansu River, nor do you understand Wang Fuchen."

Since the Tianqi period, Shaanxi Province has been plagued by the breeding of Gu and fighting.

Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were the Gu Kings.

Li Dingguo, Bai Wenxuan, Ma Bao and others emerged from the battle.

On Dai Qing's side, the brave generals in the river, Zhao Butai, Zhang Yong, Ma Ning and others, also survived the battle of raising Gu.

To put it bluntly, the Qing Dynasty's entry into the Pass and the struggle for the world with the Ming Dynasty, the Shun Dynasty and the Dashi Dynasty were basically a fight between people from Shaanxi, Gansu and Liaodong.

Wang Fuchen was the best among them. He was a native of Shaanxi and Gansu who conquered the Eight Banners with his bravery and was admired by the people of Liaodong.

It is not surprising that Wang Fuchen was defeated by Li Dingguo, but it was not surprising that he was defeated by Zhu Cixuan, a Beijing native who grew up in the south.

And he was defeated so miserably, like a dog.

Given the regional prejudices of those days, Wu Sangui really felt that the second ancestor of the Ming Dynasty was possessed by Zhu Cixuan.

Otherwise, how could a miracle be accomplished in such a short time?

This feeling of powerlessness made Wu Sangui feel as if he had returned to Shanhaiguan in the Jiashen year, facing the arrival of Dorgon's Eight Banners.

Back then, he was caught between Shunqing and Qingming, and now he is caught between Qingming and Qingming. But back then, he could choose, but now he can't.

"If Zhu Cixuan can't be killed, if we give him a few more months, he'll probably be able to surround the entire border. By then, even if Ai Xing'a and Shang Kexi come, it won't be of any use."

Wu Yingqi frowned and asked, "Father, do you mean that Zhu Cixuan has grown strong enough to overthrow the Qing Dynasty?"

Wu Sangui looked at his son.

He was adopted by his second brother in his early years. After the eldest son was held hostage in the capital, he was recognized as the second son.

"Not for a short time."

"The Qing Dynasty had over 100,000 to 200,000 Eight Banners, 600,000 to 700,000 Green Camp soldiers, nearly 100,000 surrendered Ming troops, and over a million troops to support the entire Chinese mainland."

"Even though Zhu Cixuan is a god, he cannot defeat a million-strong army, but..."

"If he really takes over the entire Southern Barbarian Kingdom, with the Nanyang supplies, he can raise an army of 100,000 in three to five years. Together with the Thirteen Families and Zheng Yanping, the land south of the Yangtze River will belong to him in less than ten years."

"But we, the southern princes, are caught between Dai Qing and Zhu Cixuan and will be destroyed in the first place."

Wu Sangui said solemnly: "Wei Zhou."

Wu Yingqi came closer and said, "Father, I'm here."

"After this battle, regardless of whether we win or lose, you will take two thousand Guanning cavalrymen and your family members, and retreat to Guizhou with Wu Guogui. If the situation becomes unfavorable, you can go to Huguang."

"When Zhu Cixuan becomes powerful enough to swallow up the world, you will join him in Huguang."

Wu Yingqi was a little shocked: "Father."

Wu Sangui waved his hand and said, "Zhu Cixuan was going to fight Dai Qing in the Central Plains at that time, and he needed elite cavalry. I can't guarantee that he can give you a marquisate."

The eldest son is in the capital, and the second son has joined the Ming Dynasty.

Under the treacherous scheme of Zhu Cixuan, the Qing court did not trust Wu Sangui and forced him to fight early, and his failure was foreseeable.

Wu Sangui was prepared to bet on both sides.

As for him, he could only go one way.

The next day.

Wu Sangui didn't wait for Wu Guogui.

If no further action is taken, the morale of the 30,000 soldiers and horses inside Hanlong Pass will completely collapse.

How can we attack the city then?

Twenty thousand troops were dispatched, divided into eight large formations, spreading over several miles.

The shield cars formed a protective line in front.

Battering rams, ladders and ramps filled the formation.

Two red cannons were launched directly, along with dozens of light cannons and a dozen hastily made catapults.

The deep and powerful sound of the horn resounded throughout the two armies.

After the catapult was tested, it started smashing directly.

The Ming army immediately used artillery to counterattack, bombarding the Qing army's catapult array.

The catapult's range was much shorter than that of the artillery, and it collapsed in an instant.

Wu Sangui did not pin his hopes on the catapults, but just wanted to find out Zhu Cixuan's artillery deployment.

The flag is waving.

The well screen in front blocks the view.

The shield carts covered the artillery as it advanced into firing range, and immediately threw iron balls at the firing holes of the Ming army's artillery.

After suppressing the Ming army's artillery, the Qing army soldiers in eight large formations began to charge.

They were prepared this time, and the ladders were tied with ropes several feet long.

There were no guards on the Ming army's wooden wall.

After the ladder reached the wooden wall, the Qing soldiers could easily reach the top by avoiding the arrow tower and watchtower, then lower the rope and slide behind the wooden wall.

Arrows and stones flew, earth and wood burst, and blood splattered on the chaotic battlefield.

Seeing that the soldiers who fell over did not make much noise, Wu Sangui used his trump card.

The roar of the two red cannons was deafening, and they fired ten rounds in a row.

Dust and wood chips flew down, and a huge gap suddenly appeared at the gate of the Muzhai Great Wall.

The Green Camp soldiers in their jackets poured in like a tide, and were pushed back like huge waves hitting the shore.

The Ming army pushed shield carts covered with iron sheets and welded with spikes to block the gap in the wooden wall of the city gate.

Wu Sangui stood on the platform, holding up a telescope, and could not help cursing:

"What a bastard! Zhu Cixuan actually became the Wengcheng."

(End of this chapter)