Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 417 The Battle of Yang County

Nanzheng City, an important town in Hanzhong, is no longer what it used to be. Zhang Xianzhong not only took away Hanzhong’s food, but also burned Nanzheng City.

Although it is in the city, tens of thousands of Qing soldiers still have to live in tents. If Nanzheng has become a ruin, then Haoge should give up this place, but the situation in Baocheng in the north is similar, and the reason why Nanzheng is The prefecture of Hanzhong is because it is located in the middle of the Hanzhong Basin, where Hauge stationed his troops. No matter which direction the Great Western Army entered the basin, he could dispatch the Eight Banners to respond quickly.

The Battle of Yang County lasted for more than a month, but Zhang Xianzhong did not come out on Dingjun Mountain, and the Western Army at Qingshiguan and Wudu Mountain did not move at all, which made Hauge gradually start to fidget.

The Battle of Hanzhong did not make any progress at all, so Hauge had to ask Lei Xingqi, the governor who stayed in Shaanxi, and Zhang Wenheng, the governor of Gansu, to find a way to send some more food and grass, but the food did not send much. The land was searched too hard, and riots broke out. The Hui generals Mi Layin and Ding Guodong supported the Ming clan Yanchang Wang Zhushi (钅穿), captured Ganzhou and Liangzhou, and killed Liu Liangchen, the general soldier of Ganzhou of the Qing court. Liangzhou Deputy Chief Soldier Mao Bin, the situation seems to be in chaos.

This let Hauge know that he could no longer obtain food and grass from the land of Shaanxi and Gansu, and as he watched the army's rations continue to decrease and the military rations that were gradually running out, he became increasingly anxious.

Meng Qiaofang hurried over from Yang County, saying that she was looking for Haoge to ask for food and grass, but even if he had food and grass, he might not be able to capture Yang County. Still have the power to fight, temporarily retreat to the Guanzhong land.

Zhang Wenxiu, who guarded Yang County, was a formidable figure. In addition, the soldiers in the city were full of fine food, so it was really difficult to attack. Zhang Wenxiu knew that the Qing army had little food, and even let the Western army cook directly in the city. The smell of bread and meat wafted down every day. The arrival of the city dealt a huge blow to the morale of the Qing army outside the city.

Meng Qiaofang entered Nanzheng City and came all the way outside Haoge's big tent. At this time, in the big tent, several Qing officials were arguing fiercely about the issue of military rations. It can only last for ten days, if after ten days, no food can be found, then the only option is to slaughter the horses."

Hearing that horses were going to be killed, Hauge frowned. Even for the northern peoples, war horses are precious things. With his eyes that were reddened by lack of sleep, he glanced at Wang Zuntan, who was his think tank, and said, "Governor Wang opinion?"

"The servant agrees with Shang Shu's opinion, and the only thing left to do is to slaughter the horses. At this point in the battle, it's up to who can't hold on first. The prince has already spent a lot to defeat Zhang Ni. If you give up now, everything before will be wiped out." It has been nearly two months since Governor Meng attacked Yang County, success is in sight, the prince must not give up halfway."

Although Wang Zuntan is a Han, but this time he fought with Hauge and advised him. In the eyes of Dorgon's faction, he is already an official of Hauge's faction, so his future can be said to be tied to Hauge.

Hauge's position in the Qing court was declining day by day. If he failed to conquer Zhang Xianzhong this time, he would have to stand aside within the Qing court, and he would even be punished and stripped of his title of prince, completely losing power.

Wang Zuntan's future will also be completely bleak because of Hauge's downfall, so although he knows that the current situation is very unfavorable to Hauge, he still encourages Hauge to continue the Battle of Hanzhong.

Because of the win, Wang Zuntan's status will naturally rise. If he loses, his future will be bleak. This is not much different from the result of withdrawing from Guanzhong. Therefore, Wang Zuntan has no reason not to let Haoge block him.

After hearing his words, Hauge felt troubled on his face, but Meng Qiaofang, who had just arrived outside the tent, became angry when she heard the conversation in the tent, "If there is food, Yang County can be conquered. This Wang Zuntan can stand up and talk without pain. , why didn’t he lead the troops to fight himself?”

At this time, without waiting for the soldiers to report, Meng Qiaofang angrily raised the curtain and came in directly, "Slaughtering war horses for military rations is absolutely impossible!"

Facing Meng Qiaofang who suddenly broke into the account, everyone was stunned. This was an extremely rude thing. If it was an ordinary Han, he would have been killed directly. He is a man, and he is also the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, so although Hauge was unhappy, he didn't blame him. He was more concerned about Meng Qiaofang's words.

"Why can't you kill the war horse?" Hauge asked. In fact, he was very unwilling. He had exhausted all his strength in Shaanxi and Gansu, and he really didn't want to return to Guanzhong in despair.

Meng Qiaofang realized that she was too reckless just now, so she apologized first and said, "Forgive me, my lord, it's Meng Lang who is in a humble position."

Hauge waved his hand impatiently, "Quickly tell me, how can I defeat Zhang Ni without killing the horse."

Meng Qiaofang frowned slightly, "My lord, I don't know how to defeat Zhang Ni without killing the horse, but I know that if I kill the horse, the lord will definitely not be able to defeat Zhang Ni."

Hearing this, Hauge suddenly reacted, and his whole body suddenly leaned against the big chair.

Meng Qiaofang killed his mount outside Yangxian County. It was to buy people's hearts, not to treat horses as military rations, and the Green Camp is not good at riding battles, and he didn't have many war horses in his hand. Even if they all slaughtered, it would not affect the battle of the Green Camp. However, the Qing army in Nanzheng was different. They were all Manchurian Eight Banners who were good at riding and shooting. If they lost their horses, it would mean that the tiger had its teeth pulled out and the eagle lost its claws.

Meng Qiaofang paused for a moment and continued: "When the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, our military strength was no match for one-fifth of the Ming Dynasty. The reason why we can now rule the world is because the Eight Banners are good at riding and shooting, and the soldiers and horses are strong. If we kill horses now, It is tantamount to breaking his own arms. Zhang Ni garrisoned troops in the mountains and narrow passes, and did not dare to go down the mountain. He was afraid of the Eight Banners cavalry. If the horse was eaten, even if Zhang Ni went down the mountain to rescue Yang County, what would the prince use to fight Zhang Ni What about combat?"

The Hauge authorities were obsessed, his desire to win was too strong, but he ignored one of the simplest problems. The reason why the Qing army was able to fight against more than 6 Western troops with [-] troops was because Zhang Xianzhong's infantry was on the plains. Can't beat the Eight Banners Cavalry.

If the Eight Banners soldiers lost their horses, Zhang Ni might not even care about Yangxian County, and directly sent troops to kill Nanzheng.

Hauge was woken up by Meng Qiaofang, and he was extremely disappointed, knowing that he had no chance of winning. Meng Qiaofang, as the coach who attacked Yang County, now seemed to want to withdraw from Guanzhong. Obviously, Meng Qiaofang no longer had the confidence to attack Yang County. The strategy of attacking Yangxian County and encircling the spot for aid has failed.

After Meng Qiaofang finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the big tent.

Hauge knew that the battle situation did not change as he had imagined, but developed according to Zhang Xianzhong's wish.

If he didn't make a decision at this time, his 6 horses would have fulfilled Zhang Xianzhong's wish, and he would become exhausted with food shortages, and be besieged and killed in Hanzhong by the western thieves.

At this moment, Hauge straightened his body, and after a while, he sighed, "Alas, now the army only has ten days' food, and it will take about six days to walk out of the reward ramp and return to Guanzhong, so let's discuss how to retreat now to avoid Zhang Ni chases after him."

Meng Qiaofang breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the words, but the morale of the Manchu officials in the tent was demoralized. They are all from the Hauge line. Now they have spent a lot of money, but they have failed. After being chased and killed, and defeated back to Guanzhong, the future will definitely be bleak.

There was silence in the big tent, but at this moment, an Eight Banners Niu Lu came in, walked up to Hauge hurriedly, bowed his head and said a few words, Hauge's eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly ordered: " Quickly bring him in~"

(Thank you for the five hundred book coins that came to give you a smile, and thank you for the special reward, Yue Dongwoxin for your reward.)
(End of this chapter)