Regarding the reasons for the tragic defeat, Huang Taiji did not summarize too much, but one was enough, that is, he underestimated the strength of the Dongjiang Army.
The Dongjiang Army has developed too fast. Even though he has continued to pay attention to it, it is still one step behind. This step behind is a disastrous failure.
And the disadvantages of going deep alone were fully exposed because of this fiasco.
Being in a foreign land with no rear or assistance, coupled with internal conflicts that were not very coordinated, finally led to fatal consequences.
The Mongols were ultimately unreliable, acting like wolves and tigers when robbing, and fleeing in all directions when defeated.
Huang Taiji had already noticed that the alliance with the Mongolian tribes was not very close, and he had come up with the idea of establishing the Eight Mongolian Cavalry and directly controlling it.
The Eight Banners of the Manchus also had the same problem. Each banner leader had different thoughts, which also made it impossible for the people and horses of each banner to let Huang Taiji use his fingers like an arm.
He also had a solution to this problem, which was to proclaim himself the Emperor Weizun, so that he could fully control the Eight Banners troops, fully grasp the power of Hou Jin, and implement various reforms in his mind.
Unfortunately, these dreams and plans all disappeared with this fiasco. Even if he returned to Shenyang safely, what awaited Huang Taiji would not be recuperation, but a fierce internal battle.
At this time, he still didn't know that Mang Gurtai and Daishan were dead, and there were only two of the original four Baylors left. However, the pattern of the four Baylors facing each other facing to the south was broken, and there would be other constraints and challenges.
In order to suppress the voices opposing Fa Ming, Huang Taiji took a detour to enter the pass this time, bringing many troops with two yellow flags to make him the strongest.
The goal was achieved, but after the failure of the two yellow flags, the loss of strength was also great. In addition, his prestige was hit hard, and the brothers Mang Gurtai, Amin, and Dorgon were bound to challenge his authority. .
Can it be settled? Huang Taiji's heart became increasingly sad. Under the blow of the great famine and the great defeat, Hou Jin could no longer bear the civil strife.
What's more, Dongjiang Town is watching with eager eyes. With Mao Wenlong's cunning and scheming, and Guo Dajing's bravery and fierceness, how can Hou Jin be given a chance to breathe?
After a night of running away, Qian'an County was already in front of him. Huang Taiji did not want to rest in Qian'an County, but bypassed Qian'an, headed north, and escaped from the wall through Lengkou.
But there is a problem, and that is supplies. This is what Daishan and others were worried about before. The food is scarce, the horses are tired, and the enemy is attacking in a circle, making it impossible to return.
Therefore, Huang Taiji's plan is to go to Qian'an County, depending on the situation. If Qian'an County surrenders without a fight, that would be the best. If Guancheng resists, he will loot the surrounding villages and towns, and then leave the customs with grain and grass supplies.
Of course, the idea is good, but it still depends on whether the pursuers behind him give him this time. If he continues to pursue him, Huang Taiji will have no choice but to continue running away.
However, in terms of the number of horses, Huang Taiji had an advantage over the pursuers and could switch horses to save horse power and continue running.
Therefore, Huang Taiji believed that the enemy's cavalry also needed to rest and feed, and this was an opportunity left for his troops.
By now, both parties should be equally tired and struggling to hold on.
Thinking of this, Huang Taiji felt heavy in his heart, but the crisis of life and death had eased a bit. As long as there was no Dongjiang Army in front of him, he did not pay attention to other Ming armies.
No one spoke, there was only the sound of horse hooves. All the Jianlu were depressed and nervous, as if a stone was weighing on their hearts. Ever since the rebellion against the Ming Dynasty, have they ever had such a tragic defeat or such an experience?
In the distance, the city wall of Qian'an could be seen. Huang Taiji's heart became nervous. He was afraid of seeing the flag of the Dongjiang Army, and he was afraid of hearing the frightening roar of muskets.
"Dongjiang Army!" A cry of surprise rang out from the cavalry in front. They saw the flag on the city earlier than Huang Taiji.
Huang Taiji was suddenly startled. Although he had such a prediction in his heart, he thought it was extremely unlikely.
After all, in the battle under Zunhua City, both sides invested almost all their strength. He did not believe that the Dongjiang Army's cross-sea attack would have such a strong force.
His psychology was hit hard one after another. The Dongjiang Army increased from more than 10,000 as he expected, to more than 20,000 under Zunhua City. They were also stationed in Qian'an. How many Dongjiang Army came? Is that all?
"Go around the city." Huang Taiji ordered loudly.
Regardless of whether there is Dongjiang Army in the city or not, even if it is just a false flag, he does not want to take risks.
What's more, the pursuers behind him will arrive at any time, and he can't waste time attacking the city. Unless the city surrenders without a fight, but now it seems that it is unlikely.
More than 500 horsemen and soldiers circled the city along the official road and galloped towards the north. The Dongjiang Army on the top of the city was already in a tight formation, and now they could only watch the enemy leave.
"They can't run away." Wang Guozhong narrowed his eyes and gave the order, and a team of 500 musketeers went out of the city to pursue the enemy.
As the first officer to study with Guo Dajing, Wang Guozhong was transferred from Li Weiluan's right association and joined the mixed association to participate in this battle.
Guo Dajing gave him two thousand musketeers, carrying a batch of grain and grass supplies, and rushed to Qian'an to garrison. The mission was not to forcefully block the attack, but like the special operations battalion, it was to intercept and inflict as many casualties as possible on the captives.
Therefore, Wang Guozhong left a thousand soldiers in the city, and arranged an ambush of a thousand troops at the narrow official road three or four miles outside the city.
There are grain and grass supplies in Qian'an City, which can be used as a relay and supplementary point when the cavalry is chasing. The ambush on the official road also depends on the specific situation before deciding the specific attack method.
If there are few enemies, gather together and destroy them; if there are many enemies, let go of the front and attack the rear.
Obviously, more than five hundred captives were not too many. Wang Guozhong sent out troops again, and under the attack from both front and rear, he was sure to annihilate all the enemies.
Huang Taiji frowned. He suddenly remembered the content in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" about Cao Cao's defeat at the Battle of Chibi and Huarong Road.
After one interception from the left and another from the right, the number of men and horses was getting smaller and smaller. When they were exhausted, when they were finally intercepted by Mr. Guan, they had no strength to fight.
The current situation is so similar. More than 2,000 horses were constantly weakened while being chased. In the end, only these 500 horses were left. This should be considered the weakest time, right?
No, it is impossible for the enemy to intercept us again, and the Dongjiang Army will never have that many men.
Huang Taiji strongly suspected that Qian'an's defense was weak and it was just an empty city tactic to deter their attack. Of course, if there were no pursuing troops behind him, he would probably give it a try.
However, even a small fortress may be difficult to break without siege equipment.
Huang Taiji felt helpless and continued to urge his horse forward. The cold wind blew on his face and past his ears. The cold air had seeped into his body, but he could only continue to endure it.
For Guo Dajing, Huang Taiji had a new understanding. He could not be said to be a god in his military use, but he was very thorough and meticulous. He was also good at grasping the enemy's psychology and using strategies.
Under Zunhua City, the layout of the fortifications was no stronger than that at Nanguan. On the surface, it seemed that there was not enough time, but now that Huang Taiji thought about it, it was a trap.
If the defense system is as tight as Nanguan, Huang Taiji may not be sure of winning with a fierce attack.
If he had not continued to make progress in the offensive, he would not have invested almost all his troops in launching a war of attrition against the Dongjiang Army.
Inducing the Jianlu to continuously attack and inflict constant casualties. When their strength is almost exhausted, they will then use shocking and terrifying indiscriminate bombings and violent attacks to launch a counterattack, turning the tide of the war in one fell swoop.
Huang Taiji was reflecting, analyzing, and researching. Guo Dajing frequently went to war and was replacing Mao Wenlong in the military command of the Dongjiang Army. He would become Huang Taiji's main opponent.
Unfortunately, all his considerations were of no use. The reason why Guo Dajing was able to defeat Huang Taiji was not because of his superior military skills, smarter mind, or better luck.
No one knows that the biggest help for Guo Dajing to reach this point is his familiarity and mastery of historical trajectories, as well as the advanced scientific and technological knowledge in his mind.
Because of this, he was able to predict his opponent beforehand, which made Huang Taiji constrained and always missed the mark.
But after this battle, Guo Dajing had lost this advantage.
History has finally deviated from its original trajectory, whether it is Huang Taiji, Chongzhen, or Li Zicheng who has not yet become powerful...
Boom, boom, boom...
After the loud noise of two gravel mines, a series of mines exploded on the ground. As soon as the fire and smoke started, the roar of muskets sounded again on both sides of the road.
Screaming and screaming, people shouting and horses neighing, a large group of Jianlu soldiers who were galloping on the road fell down amidst the flying rubble and shrapnel, and fell into unstoppable chaos.
The musketeers lying in ambush on both sides of the avenue fired rows of lead bullets at the chaotic prisoners in the fortifications built with snow-covered trees, causing a splatter of blood.
Huang Taiji's horse neighed miserably and fell heavily with the inertia of running, throwing Huang Taiji away.
Good things don't work and bad things don't work. Huang Taiji thought of Huarong Road. Although there is no Guan Erye with a sword and a sword, there are deadly bullets.
Under this violent and sudden blow, only a few dozen riders at the front rushed out, but they were still within the range of the muskets.
Although the musketeers at this time were executing orders and shooting fiercely at the enemies in front of them, the Jianlu who had escaped and dared to turn back would inevitably be hit by firepower.
The corpses of men and horses lying on the road hindered the galloping escape of Jianlu behind them. The lead bullets were raining down one after another, seemingly without interruption, reaping the lives of Jianlu.
Hot blood sprayed and poured on Huang Taiji's head, and a guard fell straight down, right in front of his eyes. Half of the head on the corpse was smashed by a heavy musket, and the original appearance could no longer be seen.
Another guard fell down slumped, covering the bullet hole in his chest, blood gurgling out from between his fingers, all the strength in his body was passing away quickly, and his eyes gradually became dull as he looked at their King Khan.
"Protect King Khan—" a guard shouted loudly, waving an iron shield, and approached Huang Taiji to provide him with protection.
A lead bullet was shot from behind, and the guard's voice suddenly stopped. Amidst the splatters of blood, he slowly knelt down and lay slumped on the cold snow.
Two powerful arms held Huang Taiji up, one on the left and the other on the right. The two guards desperately protected him, holding up iron shields to protect him, half supporting and half pulling Huang Taiji, and ran forward.
From time to time, screams were heard. Under the protection of the guards, Huang Taiji stumbled and ran. There was a sound of impact on the iron shield, which was the continuous shooting of lead bullets.
Huang Taiji's ears were ringing. The enemy's blow was so violent that he couldn't think of any countermeasures.
In fact, there is no best way to deal with falling into an ambush. Apart from rushing to the enemy positions on both sides to fight, the other is to escape from the firing range of the muskets as quickly as possible.
But in the harsh situation of being attacked from both sides, both methods are difficult.
Scattered arrows shot into the woods and grass on both sides, causing little damage to the ambushed musketeers.
The first round of fierce attacks caused heavy casualties to Jianlu, and the hasty counterattack must have been very weak.
With superior troops, superior firepower, and a relatively narrow road, although there is a way out ahead, it is very dangerous and arduous to rush out amid the hail of bullets.
Several more guards rushed up to protect Huang Taiji and ran away. Yes, they could only run away, hoping to escape.
Some officers roared, organized the prisoners, launched a counterattack, and attracted more firepower.
Huang Taiji's fat body was not clumsy, but the corpses that appeared from time to time under his feet still affected his speed.
One of the guards screamed and fell down, his thighs bleeding profusely.
Another guard fell down without even making a sound, his head was beaten into a rotten watermelon.
The heavy lead bullet hit the guard's iron shield, pushing him back a few steps and bumping into Huang Taiji.
An injured war horse neighed and jumped around, crashing into the group of people. In the chaos, even Huang Taiji was affected and fell to the ground again.
An officer of the Dongjiang Army discovered Huang Taiji, a large target protected by the regiment. More and more dense lead bullets came out, hitting the iron shield, shooting into the human body, and sparking a burst of shattering on the frozen road.
crumbs.
Are you going to die here?!
Huang Taiji picked up a bow and arrow from the ground. Although he was not very good at it, he still worked hard to set up the bow and shoot back at the enemy.
In the rain of bullets, the most casualties are war horses. This is normal. War horses have a large target and lack of protection. If hit by a lead bullet, they basically lose their riding function.
Jianlu, who lost his horse, lost the chance to escape. On the enemy's land, how could he escape pursuit and run out of the border wall with only two legs?
More violent gunfire rang out, and the musketeers who were chasing Jianlu out of the city came up to kill Jianlu.
A row of heavy muskets roared, and heavy lead bullets were fired, killing and wounding several Jianbu, making the protection around Huang Taiji weak again.
At this time, Huang Taiji was already protected by his guards and was about to break out of the ambush circle that stretched for nearly a mile.
However, the musket fire was unrelenting, and the lead bullets continued to cause casualties to Jianlu, and also closed Huang Taiji's escape window.
In some positions, some soldiers rushed forward risking their lives and engaged in close combat with the musketeers. However, the range was very small and did not affect the shooting of the musketeers in most of the ambush formations.
Finally, Huang Taiji's fat body staggered and half-knelt on the ground.