Chapter 401 General Aobai

Tunqi led his troops to break out, but was intercepted and killed by Li Dingguo on the east bank of Laodao River. By the time he finally broke out of the siege, more than half of his eight banners had been lost. On September 10, Tunqi rushed to Tongcheng County, Wuchang Prefecture, where he met Aobai’s vanguard.

Until then, Tunqi’s heart finally settled down, and he ordered the troops to stop and rest while collecting the defeated soldiers.

However, Oboi stopped his advance and sent his lieutenant to notify Tunqi to come to Chongyang County to discuss confidential matters.

Tunqi was full of suspicion, knowing that Aobai was domineering and eccentric. He had just been defeated in Changsha and his prestige was ruined. He had to rely on Aobai for everything in the future. He had no choice but to obey Aobai’s “summons” and bring his personal soldiers to Chongyang.

When approaching Aobai’s camp, Aobai did not come out to greet him. Compared with the defeated soldiers in Tunqi, Aobai’s troops were still in good condition after marching thousands of miles, with strict formations and clear flags.

Tunqi felt even more ashamed, as if everyone was looking at him sideways and pointing fingers at him behind his back.

It was not until outside the central army tent that Aobai came out to greet him. Tunqi was about to approach him to get close to him, but Aobai looked at him coldly and said, “Tunqi, the emperor has an order.”

A military officer flashed by behind him, holding a yellow book, and said majestically: “Gather together and listen to my orders.”

The Manchus imitated the Ming dynasty in everything, but they still retained many of the customs of the Forbidden City. For example, when announcing an imperial decree, the Qing army did not set up complicated procedures such as incense tables and cannons to save time.

Tunqi recognized him. This man was none other than Banbulshan, grandson of Taizu Nurhaci and son of Tabai. However, Tabai had no military achievements and was born out of wedlock. He was only a third-class general until his death. Banbulshan was doing better than his father. Because he attached himself to Oboi, he was promoted to Duke of the State last year.

“Tunqi lost his army and territory, and failed my expectations. I order you to be stripped of your title and the post of General Dingyuan. You will be sent to the capital by Banbulshan, and all the Manchu, Mongolian and Han troops under your command will be handed over to Oboi for command…”

Tunqi’s eyes went dark and he almost fell to the ground.

Banbulshan gave Tunqi a warning, and then he and Aobai looked at each other, each holding back a smile, and said, “Sir, please come into the tent and talk.”

Tunqi was so distraught that he almost had to be helped by the guards to move into the tent.

The three of them sat down as host and guest, and drank some tea together, finally regaining some strength.

Oboi couldn’t wait to ask, “How many troops do you have?”

Tunqi had lost all his weapons and armor along the way, and he didn’t know how many men and horses he had left. It would not be good to say too much, nor would it be good to say too little. He was thinking about how to start the conversation.

Oboi was straightforward, even a little rude, and thought Tunqi was deliberately deceiving him, so he said, “Your Excellency has lost many soldiers and generals. Since the expedition, Prince Jingjin Nikan and General Tongtulai have died in battle one after another, but you are safe and sound. The soldiers under your command have suffered countless casualties. The bannermen in the capital are all gnashing their teeth when they hear about it. You must not be lucky and deliberately deceive us.”

These murderous words startled Tunqi. Aobai was a brave warrior and was also known for his cruel methods. The soldiers of the banners spread rumors that he had forced the Ningnan Bandit General Chen Tai to death in order to gain power.

Although he was defeated in Yudu last time, he defeated Zhu Chenggong in Nanjing and came thousands of miles to help, which shows his hard work and great achievements. This time, Aobai annexed his troops and horses, making him even more arrogant and a true general.

On the contrary, Tunqi is already in a desperate situation, with his military power gone. He must be extremely careful and must not anger Oboi.

Banbulshan echoed, “Military power lies in concentration. Huguang and Jiangxi should have fought together. The emperor ordered the general to take over your troops in order to unify military orders. I hope you will understand.”

Tun Qi was like an eggplant hit by frost. He said honestly: “I have done nothing, lost my troops and humiliated my mission. I deserve to die…”

Aobai was impatient and would not tolerate Tunqi’s nonsense here. He interrupted him rudely and said, “Your Excellency should never abandon Changsha. Even if you are defeated in Changsha, you can retreat into the city and hold on to it and wait for help. When my army arrives, we will attack the enemy from both inside and outside and defeat them. But you are as cowardly as a tiger and abandon Changsha without authorization. Not only will you lose soldiers and generals, but you will also delay the overall situation.”

Tunqi did not dare to argue and let Oboi accuse him. “How many soldiers do you have left?” Banbulshan asked.

“I don’t know the exact number yet. When I broke out, I led the Manchu soldiers first. There were more than 10,000 Manchu soldiers, and the rest of the Mongolian and Han banner soldiers were about 6,000 to 7,000.” Tun Qi had a sad face and said, “General, the situation in Changsha was extremely urgent at that time. If we broke out one day later, we would be in danger of being wiped out. When Shen Yongzhong was in Huguang, the emperor instructed to ‘retreat when the opportunity arises and move the troops to be conservative’, so…”

“Your Excellency is wrong,” Aobai said bluntly, “Shen Yongzhong is useless. The emperor does not expect him to defend Changsha, so he instructed him to move his troops to defend it. You are the general of Dingyuan, with 30,000 to 40,000 bannermen under your command. How can you be compared with a person like Shen Yongzhong?”

“Alas!” Tun Qi was so discouraged that he even wanted to commit suicide. He sighed, “General, you and I are finally comrades in arms. If the court blames me in the future, please say a good word for me.”

“Okay, okay,” Aobai asked, “What about the whereabouts of Hong Chengchou and Shen Yongzhong?”

Before leaving Beijing, Oboi was already a Minister of the Council of State and a Minister in Charge of the Imperial Guard. Although his title was not high, he was powerful and influential, and naturally he did not take traitors like Hong Chengchou and Shen Yongzhong seriously, so he could call them by their names.

Tunqi knew that Aobai was always straightforward and didn’t like to be deceived. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Shen Yongzhong and I were guarding Changsha from inside and outside. We suffered defeats one after another and the army’s morale was unstable. The Red Bandits moved their troops to fight for the Liuyang Gate in the east of the city. The defenders were defeated and fought for the floating bridge on the Liuyang River. The whole army collapsed and the various units were scattered and scrambled to break out.

“I tried my best to ensure that the Manchu and Mongolian troops crossed the river. Hong Chengchou and Shen Yongzhong also led their troops to break through. I heard from the defeated soldiers that the Red Bandits caught up with Shen Yongzhong’s army and defeated him. Hong Chengchou took a risky move and marched south along the west bank of the Liuyang River…”

“This old fox!” Aobai and Banbulshan smiled at each other and said, “We must find Hong Chengchou. Whether our army can turn defeat into victory in the future depends entirely on whether Hong Chengchou’s strategy can be implemented.”

Tunqi opened his eyes wide and asked, “Did Hong Chengchou’s plan come to fruition?”

Tunqi naturally knew about Hong Chengchou’s plot. However, he was guarding Changsha at that time and could not wait for Oboi’s reinforcements, let alone Hong Chengchou’s plan.

It turned out that Hong Chengchou was full of tricks. On the one hand, he sent people to incite Sun Kewang, asking him to send troops to attack western Guangdong and threaten the Red Army’s lair; on the other hand, he sent people to meet Wu Sangui, asking him to go downstream and fight the Red Army head-on in Huguang.

If this trick succeeds, the Red Army will face the armies of Sun Kewang, Wu Sangui and Oboi at the same time, which will surely be disastrous.

“There is no news from Wu Sangui yet, but Sun Kewang is eager to try, and I heard he is already mobilizing troops and generals.”

“Damn it!” Tunqi seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and said, “General, I didn’t lose the city or the land. After all, I am loyal to the court. If the general is willing to write a letter to the court and ask me to make meritorious service while serving my sentence, I will go to Sichuan in person and force Wu Sangui to send troops.”

After all, Tunqi was a descendant of the Aisin-Gioro clan and had served as the General of Dingyuan. His status in the royal family was much higher than that of Banbulshan.

Oboi thought that if he could get Tunqi to work for him, he could also raise his status in the army and the court. He was deeply trusted by Fulin, so if he wrote a letter to save Tunqi, Fulin would not refuse.

“Haha!” Aobai had made up his mind and laughed, “Tunqi, you think too highly of me. However, I also know that you have always been loyal to your master and fought bravely on the battlefield. Your previous defeat was just bad luck. Now the war situation in Huguang is bad, and I am here to clean up the mess. I am going to rely on your great talent. You can rest assured to stay in my camp, and I will report to the emperor and give you a chance to turn things around.”

Tunqi was overjoyed, and humbly bowed to Aobai, saying, “General, your kindness is great, and Tunqi will never forget it.”

“Okay, okay,” Aobai said, “Tunqi, I heard that you had some contact with Wu Sangui before?”

“When we were in Shaanxi before, we suppressed the bandits together and put down the rebellion of Jiang Ge.”

“That couldn’t be better…”

(End of this chapter)