nucmednet Chapter 391 Empty City Strategy
Chapter 391 Empty City Strategy
Kong Youde and other key figures supervised the soldiers boarding the ship and the moving of boxes at Xiao Hai's dock.
Suppressing his joy, Kong Youde said to Prince Deng, "Once we arrive in Liaodong, we'll have soldiers and money, plus the cannons in Dengzhou. It shouldn't be a problem for Huang Taiji to bestow titles upon us."
Prince Deng grinned: "We're all old brothers from Dongjiang. When the time comes, we'll each be made a king and enjoy all the riches and honors. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
The two laughed together, both looking forward to the good days after arriving in Liaodong.
Outside the city, in the Ming army camp, Zhu Dadian rose very early. Today was an important day, and he had barely slept all night. Last night, Liu Ye requested a private audience and told him some startling news: the spies who had infiltrated Dengzhou a few days ago had reported that the rebels were indeed going to flee, and that they were supposedly heading to Liaodong to join the Tartars, at dawn today.
Upon hearing this news, Zhu Dadian was both surprised and delighted. He was surprised that the rebels had indeed dared to defect, just as Liu Ye had suspected, but delighted that the scouts he had initially underestimated had played a crucial role. Since the rebels were fleeing, the city's defenses would inevitably be weakened, presenting an opportunity to seize Dengzhou in one fell swoop.
He praised Liu Ye, saying, "Lieutenant General Liu is truly my lucky general. Once the war in Shandong is over, I will definitely recommend you for merit."
"Thank you for your kindness, Governor. Since the rebels are trying to escape, their defenses must be weak. I request not to participate in the siege, but to rush to Changdao Island to command the navy to ambush the rebels."
Zhu Dadian nodded: "Of course. The main force of the rebels has gone to sea, and the navy's interception is crucial. You must be in charge. You can go with peace of mind. I will also give you a share of the credit for the siege."
Liu Ye thanked Zhu Dadian and rushed to Changdao overnight.
At 2:45 AM, Zhu Dadian ordered Gao Qiqian to be woken up. Accompanied by his generals, Gao Qiqian went to the rammed earth fortified position and observed the movements on the opposite side. Dengzhou City was quieter than usual today. He keenly sensed that the rebel army's escape was imminent, and the time to capture Dengzhou had come.
Gao Qiqian rubbed his eyes, seemingly still half asleep, and asked with a hint of dissatisfaction, "What brings Lord Zhu here so early?"
Zhu Dadian smiled mysteriously: "Eunuch Gao, I had a dream yesterday. The rebels, surrounded by the army, are considering leaving. Today they want to escape by water. The city's defenses are weak. It's the perfect time to take Dengzhou in one fell swoop!"
Gao Qiqian wanted to curse. Damn it, did they have to take a dream seriously? They even woke everyone up to go crazy with him. If Zhu Dadian hadn't been the emperor's personally appointed commander-in-chief, he would have exploded on the spot.
Generals such as Zu Kuan and Wu Sangui were completely bewildered. The governor was usually calm and composed, so why was he speaking so inexplicably today?
Last night, Liu Ye secretly sought an audience with Zhu Dadian, a fact unknown to anyone else. Zhu Dadian, determined to claim all the credit for himself, kept it a secret from Gao Qiqian and the other generals. He planned to later portray himself as the reincarnation of the prescient Zhuge Liang, able to foresee the rebel army's escape and seize the opportunity to recapture Dengzhou. Seeing the generals' confusion, he smiled calmly and ordered, "All generals, listen to my command!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stood at attention. Regardless of whether Zhu Dadian's words were reliable or not, he was the commander-in-chief, and his orders were military orders, which were absolute and had to be obeyed.
"Today, the entire army will attack the city. Chen Hongfan and Liu Zeqing will lead infantry to attack the west gate, while Wu Xiang, Jin Guochen, and others will lead cavalry to provide support; Liu Liangzuo and Deng will lead infantry to attack the south gate, while Jin Guoqi and Zu Dabi will lead cavalry to provide support; Mu Wenshou will lead infantry to attack the east gate, while Zu Kuan and Zhang Tao will lead cavalry to provide support."
The crowd responded enthusiastically.
When Wu Sangui heard that his name was not mentioned, he hurriedly asked, "Governor, what about me?" He was young and had been appointed as a guerrilla commander. He was eager to make a name for himself and naturally did not want to miss any opportunity to do so.
Gao Qiqian also looked at Zhu Dadian, hoping that he could arrange a chance for his godson to fight.
Zhu Dadian glanced at him, then at Gao Qiqian, and smiled, “How could I forget a fierce general like General Wu? You will stand by in the central army. Whichever city gate shows signs of wavering, you will be in charge of the main attack on that gate.”
Gao Qiqian and Wu Sangui were overjoyed. They let others do the hard work, while the credit for capturing the city would fall on their own. The governor's arrangement was brilliant.
While the government troops had devised a strategy for a full-scale attack on the city, the garrison inside Dengzhou City was unaware of it.
Chen Guangfu gazed at the earthen fortress across the river from the south gate. It seemed the enemy wasn't ready to fire, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief. At this moment, Dengzhou was defended by only a little over two thousand men; it was a ruse, and he could only hope the government troops hadn't noticed anything amiss.
The rebels' large-scale retreat necessitated leaving men behind to cover their retreat, a task that ultimately fell to Chen Guangfu. Despite his resentment, Chen Guangfu had no choice but to accept the arrangement, given his relatively low status and seniority among the Dongjiang people. The rebel uprising was led by Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde, while the coordinated attacks from within Dengzhou were spearheaded by Geng Zhongming and Wang Zideng. His presence was minimal, and he hadn't achieved much of a notable feat, ultimately falling behind even Li Jiucheng's son, Li Yingyuan.
He glanced again toward Shuicheng. Although the north gate wall blocked his view of the main force boarding the ships, he could guess that Kong Youde and his men were about to depart. He only hoped that the main force would leave Dengzhou from Shuicheng quickly, and that the government troops would not discover their movements here, so that the day could pass peacefully, and he could slip away unnoticed.
It was past dawn and just past dusk when several command cannons sounded from the government troops' camp. The battle cries were deafening, and countless government troops poured out of the camp, braving the cannon fire from the city walls, and rushed towards Dengzhou City from three directions.
Chen Guangfu shuddered. His worst fears had come true. Judging from the situation, the government troops had likely come out in full force, and he feared he couldn't hold them off with his two or three thousand men. However, the plan for the main force's retreat was already set and couldn't be changed at the last minute. He had nowhere to retreat, so he drew his sword and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone to the city wall! Hold them off!"
The rebels in the water city also heard the sounds of the government troops' attack. A sense of foreboding flashed through Kong Youde's mind, but there was no time to dwell on it. The retreating troops were demoralized and couldn't be pulled back to defend the city. He immediately shouted, "Board the ships immediately! Anyone who delays will be executed!"
Most of the rebels had already boarded the ships, leaving only the heavy boxes behind. Under the shouts and threats of the guards, the laborers temporarily conscripted from the city struggled to carry the boxes onto the ships. Because they were being urged too hard, some people lost their footing and fell into the water, along with a box, splashing water high into the sky.
With a gloomy face, Kong Youde drew his sword and walked to the dock. He slashed down a laborer who was trying to climb aboard and shouted, "It's fallen, so what? No need to salvage it. Load it onto the boat and set off!"
After a hurried effort, the rebels finally managed to load most of the crates onto the ship. The 300-400 liter warship was overloaded and had a very deep draft, raising concerns that it might sink at any moment.
The heavy iron gate of the water gate slowly rose, and dozens of ships filed out and sailed out to sea. The rebels finally left Dengzhou City, which they had occupied for more than two years.