The inspection of the defeated soldiers was soon over, the good wine and meat were enough, and when they were full, they went to rest in the arranged military tent, woke up and bathed and changed their clothes, and put on new armor and weapons, so that those war horses who were already too tired to run could rest and rest, and when they boarded, they were again a strong soldier of the Han army. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

After confirming the identity and arranging the soldiers, Liu Liangzuo came to the governor's yamen with his own soldiers. Entering the hall of the meeting, it was already full of the generals of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion.

It has been eleven days since the siege of Jiangning, and if it is counted from the beginning of the battle of Zhenjiang, it has been about 20 days, and with the arrival of the letter for help, the Qing troops in various places in the area controlled by the Qing army in Jiangnan have also arrived in the past few days of the siege.

The fastest was naturally Zhang Tianlu, the commander of Susong, who arrived on the fourth day of the siege, and the 3,000 troops of the Tibiao battalion, as well as the 1,000 horse steps of the general of the Jinshan battalion and the 150 horse steps of a garrison of the right battalion of the naval division, all arrived with him. However, the Susong region's help to Jiangning ended here, because Chen Wen's army entered Songjiang Mansion, Su Song Zhenbiao was defeated in Songjiang, and Jiangning Fubiao, whose governor Yamen was located in Suzhou, had to stay in Suzhou Mansion.

It was precisely because of the pressure of Chen Wen and the pincer offensive from Qiantang River and Yanzhou to Hangzhou that the reinforcements of the Qing army in Zhejiang did not set off as they did in history. As a result, Liu Liangzuo's defeated army of the Eight Banners of the Han Army became the only support soldier of the Qing Army in Zhejiang.

This is already the case in the lower reaches and in Zhejiang, and the Qing army in Jiangbei did not come at all due to the presence of sailors in Fujian. Moreover, in the two battles of Gua and Zhen, the Qing army in Jiangbei has also lost their hearts, otherwise there would not be a strange thing that the governor of Caoyun would rather die than help.

In the upstream direction, there is a group of Eight Banners Army that retreated from Yungui to repair in history, and they happened to enter Nanjing at that time, but now the time is more than four years in advance, and the Three Kings infighting and the Qing army have not yet begun to enter Yungui, and there will be no Eight Banners Army that will go back to repair. Jiangxi has fallen into the hands of Chen Wen, and the rest are nothing more than those few prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River, and at the same time that their reinforcements rushed to Nanjing, the local upsurge has also begun anyway, and the reinforcements that can be sent out can actually be said to be very few.

On the whole, compared with the historical Battle of Nanjing, the Qing army's reinforcements were much inferior in both quantity and quality. There is not a single Eight Banner soldiers in Manchuria and Mongolia, even if it is the Han Army Banner, there is only Liu Liangzuo's rout, and the others are all green battalions, and the number is much less.

It's just that it's time to put it on the plate, and all that can be put on the plate are vegetables, who has the time to care if they like to eat or not.

The generals sat down, the gate was closed, and the personal soldiers of the governor's yamen guarded the gate to prevent the leakage of military discussions. The highest level here is Ma Guozhu, Tikhamu and Guan Xiaozhong, the Manchurian officials have a tense face, although Guan Allegiance is Ang Bang Zhangjing, but before the loss of the teacher and humiliation of the country, the persuasion is insufficient, so Ma Guozhu, the governor and an important Hanchen in the early Qing Dynasty, presided over the meeting.

"According to the detailed reports sent out to disguise the traders, the Haikou are indeed demoralized, and the positions of the battalions and the open and secret outposts have all been identified by the officers and soldiers. The Governor has decided to go out of the city tonight and attack the Haikou. ”

As soon as these words came out, many of the generals were cringe. They couldn't witness the victory in Zhenjiang, but the tragic situation of the Eight Banners Army could be seen clearly in Nanjing. Since the Eight Banners Army can't beat it, the Green Battalion is even more useless, although it is said that the Ming army outside the city is not the same, but if they can't defeat the Ming army to attack the city, they will not be able to bear its weight.

"The boss of the army, the sea is slack, God bless me in the Qing Dynasty. But there are many teachers, so do you want to observe it for another day or two. Speaking of this, the general swallowed his saliva, and then added: "If you want to rectify military discipline, it is not overnight, if the discipline of the Haikou is even more lax, then the attack will be twice the result with half the effort." ”

As soon as this remark came out, many of the generals echoed it. It's just that instead of waiting for Ma Guozhu and Kakhamu, two important officials, and Guan Xiaozhong, who was eager to make meritorious contributions, to refute them, Liu Liangzuo, who had just entered the city today, said in a strange manner: "Wait a few more days, I'm afraid I won't be able to win." ”

"Why did this marshal say this?"

Liu Liangzuo was Guangchangbo in the four towns of Jiangbei who was in power for a time in the Hongguang Dynasty, with tens of thousands of armor under his command, and he was a big warlord with meritorious service. After the Qing Dynasty, there was originally a great merit in killing Huang Degong, but after the battle in Jiangyin, it was basically thrown idle by the Manchu court, and it was not a big deal that these new generation of green battalion generals didn't know him.

"Ten days ago, Prince An's army attacked and failed to win. Now that the Zhejiang bandits have begun to sweep Jiaxing and Huzhou, they may go north at any time to join the Haikou, and when the time comes, hehe. ”

Prince An Yue Le, that is one of the few noble kings in the Qing court who can still handle it now, and all the generals present were stunned, but one of the generals suddenly remembered something.

"Dare to ask this handsome ......"

"Some, the Han army inlaid with yellow flags and solid mountains is really Liu Liangzuo."

Liu Liangzuo followed Yue Le south, but many people knew about it, seeing that the main owner was here, the voice of doubt disappeared, and all that was left was worry about Yue Le's safety.

"Prince An fought and retreated, and he had returned to Hangzhou to hold on, and Ben Shuai was only sent by Prince An to Jiangning to ask for help after entering ......the city."

The one who asked for help became the one who wiped his buttocks, and Liu Liangzuo's yin and yang weirdness was immediately understood by the generals. Since Yue Le is unhindered, then Jiang Ning's side must try to expel the Fujian Ming army as soon as possible, and then go south to rescue Yue Le. Thinking that Liu Liangzuo had just entered the city today, Ma Guozhu announced that he was going to carry out a night attack, and everything was logical.

Yue Le is dead, Liu Liangzuo knows very well, and Ma Guozhu also got the news from Liu Liangzuo. A Prince Heshuo died in Hangzhou, Xiao Qiyuan and Liu Liangzuo were held accountable, and Ma Guozhu, Kakam and Guan Xiaozhong could not be washed clean. Especially in charge of allegiance, a sentence that Haikou's march to Jiangnan was too smooth, causing Prince An to be forced out of the city to face the battle, and it was enough for him to die in battle.

Since Yue Le's "life is at stake", it has become an inevitable choice to drive out the Fujian Ming army as soon as possible. The night attack, the soldiers are fine but not many, and Ma Guozhu quickly decided on the candidate.

In the middle of the night, Ang Bangzhang, the commander of the Han soldiers, Guan Xiaozhong, the commander of the Han army, Zhang Tianlu, the commander of Su Song, and Liu Liangzuo, the commander of the Han army, led hundreds of elite cavalry selected by the reinforcements, 500 cavalry of Su Song, and more than 500 Han army banners to break out of Zhongfu Gate.

Guan Xiaozhong and Liu Liangzuo are eager to make meritorious contributions, and they will inevitably fight hard, and Zhang Tianlu's troops are the strongest among the reinforcements. Along the way, the Qing soldiers and horses wrapped in cloths, according to the guidance of the meticulous work, easily approached the vicinity of Zheng Chenggong's army camp, and the first to bear the brunt was Yu Xin's forward town.

At dawn, after the final repairs were completed, Guan Xiaozhong, Zhang Tianlu and Liu Liangzuo launched a surprise attack on Qianfeng Town in accordance with the established plan.

The Qing cavalry of the brigade was overwhelming, and the guards at the gate of the camp were killed immediately, and the Qing army took advantage of the situation to kill the camp.

At this time, most of the soldiers in Qianfeng Town were still asleep, and in a hurry, they had no armor on their bodies and weapons in their hands, so they had to go out to the camp to face the battle. There were cries of women and children everywhere, the infantry was in no battle, there was no time to line up here, and they were also worried about the families who were panicking and were being killed by the Qing army.

The battalion was lost, the forward town lord Yu Xin was captured, and the soldiers and their families were scattered. Those who were able to escape fled to other military camps, and if it weren't for Guan Xiaozhong and others who didn't dare to chase deeply, the losses of the Ming army would only be greater.

was suddenly attacked, all the battalions were shocked, and the camp of the forward town was lost, the defense line broke a big gap, and Zheng Chenggong had to hastily lead his troops to retreat temporarily.

After a day of tossing, Zheng Chenggong's army assembled on the line from Guanyin Gate to Guanyin Mountain, preparing to engage the Qing army here that would continue to attack with victory.

The Yifengmen line, where Zheng Chenggong was originally encamped, was north of the inner city of Nanjing, near the Yangtze River. The place where I retreated this time is the northernmost part of the outer city, and out of the Guanyin Gate is Yanziji. Zheng Chenggong had to be in danger of being in this formation, his army was all infantry, and it was obviously impossible to outrun the cavalry of the Qing army if he continued to retreat to Zhenjiang in the east, and it was even more dangerous to be attacked by the Qing army on the road. Moreover, he had just achieved a great victory not long ago, and he was naturally unwilling to give up the city of Nanjing, which was close at hand.

Historically, another reason for Zheng Chenggong's northern expedition to Nanjing was that the Qing army invaded Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Manchu Qing army's forces in Jiangnan were in a once-in-a-lifetime extreme emptiness. If it doesn't succeed this time, I'm afraid it will be impossible to wait for such an opportunity, so it's worth fighting to the death.

That night, Zheng Chenggong began to set up a defensive line here. With the left pioneer town Yang Zutong led the aid to the right town Yao Guotai, Houjin town Yang Zheng, and Qianchong town Lan Yantunzha on the mountain, as a horn to support; Gan Hui, the middle commander, and Zhang Ying, the fifth army, were in the mountains; Lin Sheng of the left Wuwei and Chen Kui of the right Huwei lined up at the foot of the mountain to meet the enemy; Zheng Chenggong himself personally supervised the right tiger guard Chen Peng and the right Chong town Wanlu to respond to the Guanyin Gate; Later, Admiral Wanli, Xuanyi, Zuozhen Wanyi, etc., blocked the main road of the bridge; Wu Hao in Xuanyi Town, and Han Ying in Zhengbing Town were copied by waterway; Huang An of Zuochong Town was in charge of the water division to prevent the Qing army from attacking from the water.

The Qing army won the first battle, and the Qing troops from all walks of life in the city competed to camp out of the city. As Zheng Chenggong expected, the Qing army really still had to continue the attack. In the early morning of May 24, the Qing army advanced by land with the four banners of the left wing of Jiangning in the south of the Yangtze River, Angbangzhang, Jing Kakhamu, Susong Admiral Zhang Tianlu, and the Han army with the yellow banner Gushan Ezhen Liu Liangzuo; The Jiangnan Governor was loyal to the leading troops and cooperated by water; Ma Guozhu, the governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi, stayed in the city.

The Qing army in the south of the Yangtze River was exhausted, the main force pointed directly at Guanyin Mountain, although the four towns resisted stubbornly, they were finally defeated by the army, almost the whole line collapsed, Lan Yan was killed, Yang Zu, Yang Zheng, Yao Guotai led the remnants of the army to flee, and the mountain position was occupied by the Qing army. And Zheng Chenggong sent the right tiger guard Chen Peng and the right Chong town Wanlu to rescue the mountain, but it was too late.

The hilltop position was lost, and the door to the Ming army's defensive line was wide open. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the condescending Qing army took advantage of the situation to launch a fierce attack on the Ming army under the mountain, and surrounded Gan Hui, the middle governor stationed in the valley, and Zhang Yingbu of the Fifth Army. The two towns of Lin Sheng and Chen Kui, which were camped at the foot of the mountain, were also wiped out. Later, Admiral Wan Li and others were attacked by the Qing soldiers at the head of the bridge, the army was defeated, Wan Li was captured, and Wan Yi escaped by swimming in the water.

The defense line was penetrated, the entire army was defeated, and Zheng Chenggong had to lead his personal guards to rush to the riverside to divert water to cover the retreat of the land division.

At this moment, Zheng Chenggong mobilized the sailors, and Chen Peng and Wan Lu were also trying their best to organize the retreat of the army. Relying on years of rigorous training, although the army was defeated, the two towns under the personal supervision of Zheng Chenggong were still on the position to cover the fleeing rout troops and fought and retreated. When Zheng Chenggong arrived at the naval division, the cannons on the ships soon began to pour into the ranks of the Qing army, greatly relieving the pressure on the Ming army's land division.

Retreating before the battle, this is a dangerous thing, especially in the case of a fiasco, but Zheng Chenggong did this with the elite and sailors of the two towns in his hands, and most of the rout soldiers who were lucky enough to retreat to the river boarded the ships in an orderly manner until they evacuated here.

It's just that the original Shuai Banner is located, and Pan Zhonggeng, who is responsible for coordinating the retreat of the rout, and the soldiers guarding the Shuai Banner are surrounded by the superior Qing army, and until they are all killed, the Shuai Flag is still flying in the outer city of Nanjing.

After withdrawing from Nanjing, Zheng Chenggong did not hesitate, and immediately gave up the previously recovered Zhenjiang and other places, and took away all the towns and Zhenjiang soldiers left behind by Zhou Quanbin and withdrew to Chongming Island.

During the Battle of Nanjing, Chongming Island was still under the control of the remaining troops of Su Songshui's division, and Zheng Chenggong besieged it on all sides, but instead lost his troops and was forced to abandon Chongming and withdraw to Fujian.

Now, Chongming is in the hands of the Ming army, and Zheng Chenggong has incorporated all the defeated troops that have lost their formation into those incomplete units. With just the formation of the army, the combat effectiveness will inevitably decline temporarily, and if it suffers a series of heavy defeats, the soldiers will be lost, and many of the families of the soldiers and soldiers will be separated, and the morale will be extremely low, and it will be impossible to fight again. Even in the military, there are even more voices eager to withdraw to Fujian, and they are becoming more and more intense.

"Hey, ten years of accumulation, once lost, the general trend has gone."

At this moment, the thirty-one-year-old Zheng Chenggong seemed to be four years and two months old, and he was the same as when the siege of Chongming failed at the end of July of the thirteenth year of Yongli.

………………

"The soldiers broke their shins and broken strands, the captured horses galloped with wounds, the floating corpses piled up in the wilderness to cover the river, and the survivors were tied". ”

This is the text of the letter written by Zhu Zhiyu, a great Confucian in the late Ming Dynasty who happened to be in the army at the time, to his friends in Japan under excitement.

Coincidentally, he was pleased to hear that Zheng Chenggong was melon and town two victories, and his teacher Qian Qianyi also excitedly wrote the poems of "ditch filling the meat that can be crossed", "killing all the slaves to collect their hands", "miscellaneous prisoners are upside down, and the south is still China" to praise the achievements of the Fujian Ming army. But today, after receiving the news that Zheng Chenggong had been forced to give up Zhenjiang and other places, Qian Qianyi couldn't help but lament: "The defeat is really a tragedy for eternity, and it is really a tragedy for eternity!" ”

Qian Qianyi's state is very bad, and it is very dangerous for a seventy-three-year-old man. Seeing this, Liu Ru hurriedly whispered and comforted: "Mu Zhai, isn't there still a king of Huijijun?" ”

"Yes, Chen Wen is still here, Chen Wen is still here!"