Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 433 Shipping

Qing army camp.

It was dusk, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the white military tents, adding a sense of desolation to the densely packed and undulating military tents.

On a small slope outside the military camp, a general was looking intently to the north, as if he was gazing at the majestic Forbidden City in the distance.

Dusk was falling and the setting sun was as red as blood, dyeing the earth a pale yellow. He was the decision-maker who helped the Qing Dynasty establish its capital in the Central Plains. He was also the failed leader of the Qing Dynasty's unification of the country, Aisin-Gioro Dorgon.

These days, Dorgon's health has been getting worse and worse, and he is somewhat helpless about the increasingly corrupt situation in the north.

What was even more worrying for Dorgon was that the Qing Dynasty was unable to defeat the Zhou army on the battlefield. Instead, the Zhou army was getting closer and closer to the capital. This also made people from all over the country lose their fear of the Qing court, and therefore there were countless people who surrendered to the Zhou.

Dorgon was a little short and fat, but his face was resolute and his eyes were sharp because of their depth. He stood up suddenly, his right hand tightly grasping the sword at his waist. The decision he was about to make would definitely change the rise and fall of his clan.

Dorgon decided to make preparations for both scenarios. On the one hand, he ordered the families of the Eight Banners in the capital to prepare to withdraw from the interior. On the other hand, he wanted to give it one more try. If he could defeat Meng Jun, then there would still be a chance to save everything.

After patrolling outside Zhou's camp for several days, the Qing army saw that there was no good opportunity. Zhou's army's defense was rigorous and orderly. Dorgon knew that if they attacked by force, all the Eight Banners would be wiped out, and the outcome would be unpredictable. Even if they won, if the Eight Banners were gone, the foundation of the Qing Dynasty would be gone. Whether they won or not, they would still be defeated.

Dorgon knew that he would not gain any advantage in a head-on conflict, so he turned his attention to another possible strategy, which was to cut off the canal.

The Zhou army could advance slowly towards Beijing without fear because they had the advantage of the navy and did not have to worry about the risk of supply being cut off. Dorgon knew that they were bullying the Qing army because they had no navy. However, after the Zhou army occupied Shandong, the cities along the river were all stationed with troops for defense, so Dorgon did not dare to go deep into enemy territory.

But now it is different. Zhou's army is about to approach Tianjin. Although the Qing army cannot cut off the canal, it can sink ships and cut off the passage of large ships. Dorgon intends to use this to cut off Zhou's army's logistics supply line. Only Zhou's army is short of food. In his opinion, with the advantage of Qing cavalry, they will definitely find an opportunity to defeat Meng Jun.

In order to achieve this goal, Dorgon ordered Suksaha to lead the cavalry to detour to the south of Cangzhou. They first forcibly requisitioned dozens of civilian ships. Although these ships were not as large and sturdy as the Zhou army's navy ships, their value to the Qing army was not this.

Afterwards, the Qing army loaded stones and sandbags onto the boats at night until the boats were overloaded and sank. Several ships were sunk in the same location to serve as obstacles to block Zhou army's large grain transport ships.

After the shipwreck, the Qing army marched away in a swagger. It was not until a deep-draft grain transport ship of the Zhou army collided with the Qing army's shipwreck and sank that the grain transport soldiers sent soldiers who were good at swimming to investigate underwater, only to find out that the Qing army's shipwreck was blocking the canal.

The news soon spread back to the Zhou army camp. The generals of the Zhou army were originally in high spirits, thinking that Dorgon had run out of tricks and it would be easy for the army to recapture the Northern Capital.

However, Dorgon's act of sinking the ships and cutting off the food supply made the generals speechless for a moment. The loss of food and grass supplies was an extremely dangerous thing for the army. Faced with this sudden situation, Meng Jun did not panic.

He knew that Dorgon's goal was to force the Zhou army to change its original strategy. To this end, Meng Jun urgently controlled the military rations on the one hand, and on the other hand, ordered the rear to speed up the requisition of small boats to transport them from the sunken ship, and ordered people to clean up the sunken ship immediately.

Meng Jun then quickly summoned his generals to discuss countermeasures. At the military meeting, some generals suggested a decisive battle with Dorgon, some said that more navy could be sent to prevent the Qing army from sinking ships again, but no one proposed withdrawing troops.

Meng Jun asked the naval commander Shen Tingyang whether it was possible to stop the Qing army from sinking their ships and whether the safety of the army's food supply routes could be guaranteed.

Shen Tingyang bowed his hands, his expression solemn, and said: "Your Majesty, looking at the situation, the canal is winding and the waterway is long. It is really beyond human control. The Qing army is cunning. If they want to sneak and sink the boat again, with their small boats hidden in the night, it is indeed difficult to prevent them."

Shen Tingyang's words made Meng Jun frown. It was not impossible to clean up the Dorgon shipwreck, but it was easy to sink the ship, but it was much more difficult to clean it up. Even if he tried his best, it would probably take three to five days to complete it.

Seeing Meng Jun's frown, Shen Tingyang said to Meng Jun in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I have a plan that can solve Dorgon's plan!"

"General Shen, please speak!"

Shen Tingyang said solemnly: "Our army's food and grass can be transported by sea, from Huai'an to Tianjin, which takes no more than half a month. Compared with the canal, it takes less time and has lower losses."

At this time, Bai Yongfu asked, "General Shen, I heard that the sea is rough and there is a risk of the ship capsizing at any time. Is this inappropriate?"

Shen Tingyang shook his head and said with a smile: "No, the maritime transport system was created by Zhu Qing in the Yuan Dynasty. In the 12th year of Chongzhen, I presented a sea transport map to Emperor Lie, which included a detailed route plan. In the 13th year of Chongzhen, I personally boarded two ships loaded with hundreds of stones of rice and set off from Huai'an to Tianjin. Even though we encountered a short headwind on the way, which delayed the voyage for two days, we still arrived in Tianjin smoothly in just 12 days."

At this time, the Zhou army had arrived in Jinghai, which was only 80 miles away from Tianjin. A normal march would take only two days. Even if it continued according to the previous strategy, it would only take seven or eight days.

Meng Jun thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement with Shen Tingyang's suggestion.

Dorgon's ship-sinking strategy undoubtedly brought severe challenges to the Zhou army's food and fodder supply, while Shen Tingyang's proposal gave Meng Jun another option.

Although sea transportation is faster, transporting grain by sea is not as good as transporting it by inland rivers. If you are not careful, it is common for ships in this era to sink.

Shen Tingyang's answer was obviously very comprehensive. He not only mentioned the successful case of maritime transport in the previous Yuan Dynasty, but also mentioned his own personal experience, and had sea transport maps for reference.

Especially given the current urgent situation of the Zhou army, even if there are risks, it is acceptable, which is better than being controlled by the enemy.

After the ship sank, Dorgon's spies reported that the Zhou army's large ships could not pass, so the Zhou army was using small boats to transport the ship while clearing the sunken ship.

Dorgon laughed and said, "Let's see whether you can get it out faster or I can sink it faster!"

Afterwards, Dorgon ordered Suksaha to go south again, choose another place, sink the ships, and block the Zhou navy.