Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 297: Battle of Huai'an (Part )

Zhao Yongping is well-versed in military books. Now that he has stationed his troops outside the city of Huai'an, a violent attack is not Zhao Yongping's first choice.

Therefore, he created an illusion to lure the defenders and decided to show weakness to the enemy, trying to lure the Huai'an defenders out of the city to attack the camp, so as to find an opportunity to fight.

Zhao Yongping first ordered the troops outside the camp to show a relaxed state. The soldiers seemed careless and the patrol soldiers in the camp also seemed lax.

He also deliberately allowed some soldiers to play outside the camp, exposed some food and weapons, and the artillery positions appeared to be laxly guarded. At the same time, he put armor on some civilians. When these untrained civilians marched in a line, they couldn't help but reveal the aura of a mob, which seemed to be an invitation to the Huai'an defenders, luring them out of the city to attack the camp.

Zhao Yongping even asked some soldiers to pretend to be drunk and deliberately make loud noises outside the camp to attract the attention of the Huai'an defenders. However, Zhao Yongping was afraid that it would be too obvious to distinguish the truth from the false, so he publicly whipped the soldiers who made loud noises, and those who violated military discipline were publicly caned.

It cannot be said that Zhao Yongping's strategy was ineffective. At this time in Huai'an City, Ma Sangge and Wang Wenkui were arguing over it.

Ma Sangge, a member of the Bordered Red Banner, commanded 300 Bordered Red Banner soldiers and was stationed in Huai'an.

Wang Wenkui, whose original surname was Shen, was fostered by his maternal family when he was young and took the surname Wang. In the seventh year of Tianqi reign of Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, he was appointed an official in Liaodong. In the second year of Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, when the Qing army broke into Zunhua, he was captured and surrendered.

The following year, when he arrived in Shenyang, Huang Taiji ordered Wang Wenkui to serve in the Wenguan. In the second year of Shunzhi, he was promoted to the Governor-General of Huai'an. It had been twenty years since Wang Wenkui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. With such a rich experience, he was naturally not afraid of Ma Sangge.

Ma Sangge was deeply suspicious of the situation in the camp outside the city and said, "Zhao Yongping has been with the Meng bandit for so long, how could he be so bad at leading his troops? This must be a trick to lure the troops in!"

Wang Wenkui disagreed. He sneered and said, "Meng's subordinates, Lin Shiqi, Qian Biao, Liang Sanhu, Han Xiong and others are well-known, but Zhao Yongping has followed Meng the longest, but he is unknown. This shows that he is useless."

Ma Sangge shook his head and said, "If Zhao Yongping was useless, how could he easily break through the Jiangbei camp?"

Hearing the topic turn to the Jiangbei camp, Ke Yongsheng felt a little embarrassed, but Wang Wenkui's words made Ke Yongsheng feel that he was not defeated, but simply defeated by Zhao Yongping with artillery.

Wang Wenkui stroked his beard and said, "How can the earthen walls of the camp hold out for long? Moreover, the enemy has red cannons. Once the camp walls collapse, the morale will collapse. Therefore, General Ke's defeat is understandable."

Upon hearing this, Ke Yongsheng's face showed gratitude. He quickly bowed to the ground and said loudly: "Thank you, Governor. I am... grateful to you." At the end, a few tears squeezed out of Ke Yongsheng's eyes.

Wang Wenkui looked pleased and said, "General Ke, there is no need to do this. Please stand up quickly."

Seeing that Wang Ke and his partner were in love, Ma Sangge said unhappily, "The Regent ordered me to stay in Huai'an, so I must protect it. If I leave the city and something goes wrong, I'm afraid Governor Wang won't have a good time."

Wang Wenkui said: "This is why I want to defeat the enemy outside the city. The enemy has artillery. If we bombard Huai'an City day and night, although Huai'an City is strong, I am afraid that the city will collapse and the morale of the soldiers will fall. The enemy will take the opportunity to enter. How can Huai'an City be defended?"

Ma Sangge wanted to refute when he heard this, but he couldn't win the argument with Wang Wenkui. He saw Wang Wenkui's face full of confusion. After a long while, he threw down a harsh word: "No matter what, I don't agree to leave the city!"

After saying that, Masange turned around and left angrily.

Seeing Ma Sangge leave, Wang Wenkui asked Ke Yongsheng with a serious expression: "General Ke, you have fought against Zhao Yongping before, can his troops stand up to the challenge?"

Upon hearing this, Ke Yongsheng immediately replied, "Governor, Zhao Yongping was able to capture the camp where I was stationed because of the artillery. There were nearly 40 cannons that fired randomly, causing the earth walls to collapse everywhere. The soldiers were in a panic, and the enemy was defeated as soon as they charged. In my opinion, if we charge head-on, they will be no match for me!"

Wang Wenkui nodded when he heard this. He had served the Qing Dynasty for twenty years and had relied on his seniority to get the position of Governor of Huai'an. Now he was fifty-five years old, which was the prime age for officialdom. Without great achievements, how could he make further progress?

Wang Wenkui's ambition is not just to defend Huai'an. Of course, he wants to make things happen as he pleases, to be in a high position in the government, and to win battles thousands of miles away. If he can defeat Zhao Yongping, he can threaten Nanjing. Wang Wenkui knows that Nanjing is now empty, with only three or four thousand soldiers. For a city as big as Nanjing, with three or four thousand people, what is the difference between that and no one defending it?

If they could threaten Nanjing, wouldn't that besiege Wei to save Zhao? Would the Meng bandits far away in Huguang still be able to fight with peace of mind? Once their old nest was lost, it was not impossible for hundreds of thousands of troops to be defeated and their commander to be lost.

But Wang Wenkui was also worried that this was Zhao Yongping's strategy to lure the enemy, so he asked with a little uneasiness: "General Ke, do you think Zhao Yongping is trying to lure the enemy?"

Ke Yongsheng was also a little hesitant, and after a long while he replied: "Replying to the Governor, it should not be. Zhao Yongping whipped his soldiers many times. If it was a strategy to lure the enemy, how could it be so contradictory? In my opinion, it is normal for Zhao Yongping, a scholar, to lead the army and his subordinates to have lax military discipline."

After he finished speaking, Ke Yongsheng saw that Wang Wenkui looked thoughtful, and said, "Governor, if we go out of the city to attack the enemy camp, we don't need too many soldiers. We can select 2,000 elite soldiers and defeat the enemy camp in one fell swoop. If something goes wrong, there are still 8,000 defenders in the city, enough to hold out and wait for help. If we win, the siege of Huai'an will be lifted immediately, and we can also recapture Yangzhou and threaten Nanjing."

Wang Wenkui calculated in his mind that if he was defeated, the most he would lose would be two thousand men, and it was impossible that none of the two thousand men would not return. If he won, the benefits would be immense. Not to mention capturing Nanjing, which was a little difficult, but the Qing army had arrived at the Yangtze River again, looking at Nanjing across the river. Nanjing was empty, so Meng Jun would probably have to withdraw his troops in the middle of the night and run back to Nanjing.

In this way, his fame throughout the world is no longer false. The story of Wang Yangming will be repeated on himself.

Thinking of this, Wang Wenkui was excited. He slammed the table and said to Ke Yongsheng: "General Ke, I intend to go out of the city to attack the camp. I will follow your advice and select 2,000 elite soldiers. You will lead them personally. Once the enemy camp is defeated, I will ask the regent for credit for you and give you an official title and a son. It's not a problem!"

Ke Yongsheng nodded firmly and was about to bow his hands in response, when he suddenly thought of something and said hurriedly, "Governor, General Masange doesn't agree to leave the city?"

Wang Wenkui snorted coldly and said, "Why bother with this cowardly rat? The Huai'an army regards me as the leader. They only have 300 soldiers. Go and select the soldiers yourself. Don't worry!"

Ke Yongsheng bowed and said yes, then turned to leave. But at this moment, Wang Wenkui's voice came again: "General Ke, when selecting soldiers, do not let any news leak out!"

Ke Yongsheng quickly responded, "Yes, Governor, I will not let Ma Sangge know."

"Nonsense! My intention is not to let the bandits outside the city know!"