Dolgon took the battle report and said coldly with his hands behind his back: "You have seen it all, this is the result of this southern expedition!" More than 10,000 soldiers were lost, and not even a single hair of the puppet emperor Zhu Yujian was injured, and everything returned to the original situation! Hmph, the fifteenth brother of this king, has never been good at leading troops to fight, but his prevarication has grown very quickly. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info The puppet Ming army encountered my Qing Dynasty iron cavalry, and it was always crushed at the first touch, and it became a strong force in front of him! Of course, he is not in the presence of this king, and this king cannot punish him for the time being! However, this king wants you two to tell the truth, what is the problem this time? ”

After saying this, Dolgon directly called Ning Wan's name: "Mr. Ning, you say it first!" ”

"Huh!" Ning Wan thought about it for a while and said, "The slave has just carefully read the battle report sent by Prince Yu, and I feel that the reason why my southern expedition this time was not as smooth as the sweep of the puppet emperor Zhu Yousong and the puppet prison state Lu King Zhu Yihai in the second year of Shunzhi is mainly due to two points. ”

"Which two?"

"First, the puppet emperor Zhu Yujian is far more courageous than Zhu Yousong and Zhu Yihai. Until the time when our army entered Huguang and arrived at the city of Changsha, he was still sitting in Hengzhou, calmly mobilizing all kinds of puppet Ming troops to meet the battle, which Zhu Yousong and Zhu Yihai could not do. Forgive the slave bluntly, although my Qing Dynasty has swept the world and unified the country unstoppably, the former Ming Dynasty has lasted for more than 200 years after all, and its influence is far-reaching, and there are still not a few gentry and people everywhere who are willing to be hypocritical. Not to mention those places that are still under the control of the Pseudo-Ming, even in the provinces that have been incorporated under my rule. There are also a lot of people who are in the dark center and are pseudo-bright, but they are forced by the military might of our Qing Dynasty to dare not make a mistake. And so it goes. If the puppet Ming emperor was a bold man like Zhu Yousong, blindly fleeing and ignoring the people, the puppet Ming officials, gentry and puppet Ming troops everywhere would naturally be extremely disappointed. The heart is like ashes, and he will not work for the puppet Ming court. And if the puppet Ming emperor is a determined person like Zhu Yujian, those civil and military generals and gentry who have a puppet in their hearts will inevitably be greatly encouraged, thinking that the sky will not die and the puppet Ming, so they will be lucky and continue to resist our Qing dynasty king. The minions just saw in the war report that there were almost no puppet generals who surrendered this time. Even the weak Huang Dynasty Propaganda Department and the rabble that originally belonged to the thieves, such as Wang Jincai and others, also followed some of the elite soldiers and horses of the Pseudo-Ming Dynasty and shouted loudly. The gentry from all over the country couldn't hide from my Qing Dynasty. On the contrary, he took the initiative to provide food and grass for the puppet Ming army that resisted our Korean army. Let's ask, how is the combat power of Huang Chaoxuan, Wang Jincai and other units compared to Liu Liangzuo, Li Chengdong and other departments at the beginning? How is the financial resources of the Huguang gentry compared to the original Jiangnan gentry? How is the number of soldiers and horses controlled by the puppet emperor Zhu Yujian compared to Zhu Yousong? However, the results of the two southern expeditions were so different, and the minions thought that the first point was that the puppet emperor Zhu Yujian's calm and firm determination aroused the courage of the local pseudo-Ming civil officials, military generals and gentry to resist our Qing Dynasty. This made it difficult for our army to move forward and finally returned in vain. ”

Dorgon groaned for a moment. nodded: "What you said is not unreasonable, Zhu Yujian is indeed not as easy to deal with as Zhu Yousong and Zhu Yihai." As soon as he heard about him, this king remembered Chongzhen, hum, and he would not move until he died. The more he does this, the less willing those who harbor hypocrisy will die. What about the second point? ”

Ning Wan continued: "Second, the minions feel that the soldiers and horses of Huguang Town, which are pseudo-Ming this time, have played a great role. Judging by the war report. This army of soldiers and horses is strong, and it is almost not inferior to my Qing Dynasty and Han Eight Banners! The commander of this army. Long before our army arrived in Changsha, he led the army to take the initiative to attack, designed to hit the vanguard of our Han army with a white flag, and also caused the death of Lord Tong Tulai, and then directly confronted our army with the help of various terrains, and almost did not fall behind in the number of casualties, and finally dared to risk his life when he knew that there was little chance of victory, and led the army to drag the army of Prince Yu. This kind of courage and courage is almost rare among the generals of the Puppet Ming, and the nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command are also the mainstay of the entire Puppet Ming army. If it weren't for this Pang Yue leading the army to repeatedly block the front of our army and dampen the spirit of our army, it is unlikely that the puppet emperor Emperor Longwu would have calmly summoned reinforcements from all walks of life. ”

"This Pang Yue, this king also saw it in the battle report. With this person and the 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command, our army fought a difficult battle, and it was not for nothing. If this person cannot be used by my Qing Dynasty, he will become a thorn in the side of my Qing Dynasty. One day, this king will have to find a way to pull out this nail! Dolgon said with deep feelings, "Mr. Ning analyzed the previous two points well, but what about the third point?" ”

"Third, the servant felt that it was Prince Yu who knew that this matter was difficult and did not want to increase the casualties of my Qing warriors, so he led the army back north. Speaking of which, although our army lost more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in this battle, the losses of the puppet Ming army were not small, and it was only a draw at most. As long as the lesson of this time is learned, the next time the puppet monarch may not have such luck. I said.

Now at the mention of Duoduo, Dolgon was a little angry, and snorted coldly: "It's rare that Mr. Ning is still interceding for him, but no matter what, this is a defeat." At present, for my Qing Dynasty, a draw is a failure. The so-called draw means that the puppet Ming forces have withstood the conquest of our Qing Dynasty, and their chances of turning over are one point greater, and our dynasty is one step closer to defeat. Waiting for Prince Yu to return to Beijing, this king has his own way to let him reflect and reflect, the next southern expedition, this king will not let him lead the army again, lest he play a so-called draw to show this king! ”

After speaking, Dolgon named Feng Quan again: "Mr. Feng, tell me your opinion!" ”

"Huh!" Feng Quan opened his mouth and said, "Lord Ning and Prince Yu's analysis is very reasonable, but the minister thinks that the biggest reason for my unfavorable expedition to the south this time is that Pang Yue, the general soldier of the pseudo-Ming Huguang. As Lord Ning said, this person is good at using soldiers, scheming, and has a foolish heart for the puppet Ming court. If this person had not led the army to resist many times, even if the puppet emperor Zhu Yujian had more courage than Zhu Yousong and Zhu Yihai, and there were no capable generals under him, most of them would only be able to follow in the footsteps of Zhu Yousong and others. Therefore, the minister thought that when I went on the next southern expedition, I would definitely concentrate superior forces and focus on pulling out the nail of Pang Yue first. Once this person is gone, the pseudo-Ming will hardly have any more generals who dare to fight. There is no one who can resist the advance of our army. Otherwise, wait until this person continues to be promoted to the rank of knight, and train more elite soldiers for the puppet Ming court. The situation will be even more unfavorable for our DPRK. ”

Seeing that Dolgon nodded slightly, Feng Quan continued: "In addition, the minister thinks that if our southern expedition encounters disadvantages, the puppet Ming monarchs and ministers and the gentry and people everywhere will be greatly encouraged, and the power of the puppet Ming will also grow rapidly. In this way, this is extremely unfavorable to my Qing Dynasty's domination of the world. Therefore. The next southern expedition should be carried out as soon as possible, and the puppet Ming court should not be allowed any respite, lest they make a comeback. Moreover. Our dynasty should also intensify its efforts to appease and surrender the gentry in various places, including the gentry in the areas under the control of the puppet Ming Dynasty, so that they can know that our dynasty is orthodox. ”

"Proper pacification of the gentry was certainly necessary, as for the puppet Ming court. The king didn't say that he would let them go easily! Dorgon said. However, summer is just around the corner, and it's even hotter in the south. Previously, Prince Yu and Prince Su took most of the Eight Banners warriors out, Prince Yu was still on his way back to the division, and Prince Su had just returned to Beijing from Sichuan. Moreover, the grain and grass stored in Beijing are also insufficient, and it is not appropriate to launch the next southern expedition immediately. After autumn, the grain from the provinces should also arrive. The warriors of the various banners who had previously returned to Beijing were also almost rested. At that time, it may be possible to make Prince Zheng or Prince Su have a hard trip. If necessary, it would be okay to let the king of Pingxi run again. It is true that the matter of Huguang cannot be blindly delayed. ”

"The Lord Regent is wise!"

"Whether you are wise or not, future generations will have their own conclusions, and it doesn't matter what you say!" Dolgon snorted coldly, and then commanded: "In this case, you two don't go first, this king will summon Ganglin and them to come to discuss it later, so you can participate together!" ”

"Huh!"

*********

When Dolgon urgently convened his ministers in Beijing to discuss the gains and losses of the southern expedition, the situation around Hengzhou was also changing rapidly.

As early as a day earlier, that is, on 16 April, all the battalions in Huguang Town, which were originally stationed outside Changsha City, arrived in Hengzhou, except for the Gangfeng and Po military camps that had returned to Chenzhou. Pang Yue asked the battalions to seize the time to rest and recuperate, and bought a large number of pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks out of their own pockets to improve the food for the whole army, so that the officers and men could recover their strength as soon as possible. At the same time, the battalion officers and the personnel of the staff department of each battalion were convened for many discussions, the personnel allocation of each battalion was partially adjusted, and a set of restorative training plans were drawn up, so as to restore the combat effectiveness of the whole army as quickly as possible and as much as possible.

At this time, the Gangfeng and Huben battalions, which suffered the most serious losses, had returned to Hengzhou, but the rest of the battalions also suffered considerable losses. There are only more than 1,100 cavalry left in the Flying Tiger Battalion, but fortunately, there are still more than 2,000 horses, and some excellent ones can be selected from the auxiliary soldiers of the battalion to supplement the battle ranks; There were still more than 3,500 men left in the trapped camp, and compared with the rest of the battalions, the losses were relatively small; The artillery of the Agni Battalion did not suffer much losses, but the bird-slingers, spearmen, and sword and shield soldiers suffered heavy losses, and the losses reached almost sixty percent, and it was impossible to have decent combat effectiveness in the short term. Pang Yue reorganized the rest of these people, and he was not going to let them go to the battlefield again, so he was responsible for the vigilance of the heavy equipment in the battalion at ordinary times; Among the two auxiliary battalions, there were only 2,000 people left in the Taishan battalion, and the losses of the Huashan battalion were relatively small, and there were only 2,600 people left.

Although the battalions suffered a lot of losses, under Pang Yue's operation, the officers and men recovered relatively quickly in terms of mood and physical strength. Thanks to the further improvement of the food and the fact that they could watch all kinds of entertainment from time to time, such as storytelling, singing, juggling, and so on, most of the officers and men came out of the shadow of the last war and threw themselves into restorative training with great interest.

Subsequently, on April 25, the Tiger Camp arrived in Hengzhou, bringing with them a large number of newly created armor, weapons and ammunition. Pang Yue asked the Huben battalion to settle down and rest, and distributed these weapons and ammunition to the battalions to make up for the previous battle damage.

On April 27, Emperor Longwu appointed Yang Tinglin, a scholar of Wuyingdian University, as the new governor of Liangguang, and led Pang Yue, Ma Jinzhong, and Chen Youlong to Liangguang to assist the local righteous people who rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and waited for an opportunity to recover the lost territory. The total strength of the Ming army in Liangguang included more than 15,000 people in Huguang Town led by Pang Yue (including 2,000 newly recruited Zhuang Ding newly transferred from the military department as auxiliary soldiers), 10,000 people from Ma Jinzhong's department, 3,000 people from Chen Youlong's department, and more than 1,000 people from the standard battalion directly under Yang Tinglin, totaling nearly 30,000.

On April 28, the army swore an oath outside the city of Hengzhou, and Emperor Longwu personally led his ministers out of the city to bid farewell, and gave wine to the generals and above. After the end of the swearing-in meeting, the whole army embarked on a journey in the ardent expectation of Emperor Longwu and the ministers of the court. (To be continued.) )