Azig led his troops to set off overnight and rushed back to Shenyang. Before entering the city, he could already feel the atmosphere of tension and panic that enveloped the whole city.
The tribesmen in the surrounding villages and towns had received orders, knowing that the enemy was approaching, and they had to move to avoid disaster. Although they were reluctant to part with the belongings they had managed for many years, but their lives were at stake, they still took as much belongings as possible and rushed to Shenyang to prepare for the move.
Large and small vehicles, mules, horses and livestock, whether they were bannermen, slaves in clothes, or shaved-headed Liao people who were bound to the Xie, all gathered towards the city of Shenyang with panic on their faces.
They had to give up their houses, cultivated land, and heavy household items. For more than ten years, the stolen land had become their home. Now, they finally gave up and fled back to the bitter cold land in the north.
Not long ago, such a scene happened in the war-torn Liaodong. A large number of Liao people dragged their families and fled to the distance in fear. This was because the fierce Jianlu were about to attack, and they were beasts that killed without blinking an eye.
"Failed!" Azig felt heavy. Looking at the tragic scene of the end of the world, he knew that it would be even worse in the future. He would be pursued by the enemy for hundreds of miles, and he didn't know how many people would die in the wilderness.
When I arrived at the Khan Palace, I was quickly summoned by Dorgon. At the same time, other senior officials also attended the meeting.
Tens of thousands of enemy cavalry were driven into the depths, and the situation took a turn for the worse. This was something no one expected. The most critical thing was the loss of Liaoyang. The enemy had no control and launched with all their strength, making it difficult to resist.
Obviously, from the successive actions, Jianlu had realized that Liaoyang was doomed. Even if no actual intelligence was detected, it was basically certain.
The atmosphere in the meeting hall was extremely depressing. Although Azig had brought back more than 20,000 troops, and with the addition of Shenyang's defenders, he could still collect 30,000, a headache was still before him.
"King Khan, the retreat is basically ready and can start at any time." Seeing Dorgon's gaze, Suk Saha hurriedly bowed and said.
Dorgon nodded slightly and said: "Time is urgent, let's discuss the retreat now, and then take action immediately."
Scanning the crowd, Dorgon continued: "After tens of thousands of enemy cavalry broke through Fushun, they burned, killed, looted, and ran all the way to Tieling and other places in the north. Do you think our army's retreat plan also needs to be changed?"
Duduo answered: "I think it would be safer to change the route and withdraw from Fushun to Jianzhou first."
Seeing everyone's gazes on him, Duduo explained: "Although our army still has about 30,000 troops, the enemy's cavalry also has the same number. If we fight head-on, even if we win, we will definitely suffer heavy losses. This pair will fight in the future."
It is very detrimental to the stable development of the northern land."
"Besides, the enemy cavalry burned, killed, looted, and continued to migrate along this road, and they have lost the local supplies. If there are pursuers behind them, the battle will be even more disadvantageous."
This analysis was quite correct. Dorgon showed appreciation but did not agree with it. Apparently he still wanted to hear more opinions from others.
Mandahai hesitated for a moment and then said: "What you said makes sense. But I feel that the enemy cannot carry heavy weapons if they attack with light cavalry. The enemy's biggest reliance has always been artillery. In the absence of artillery, , the enemy may not dare to confront our army head-on."
"Of course -" Mandahai changed the topic and said: "Returning from Fushun to Jianzhou seems to be the fastest and most secure on the surface."
From what he said, it seemed that Mandahai was hesitant and was not sure which way to retreat. However, he was somewhat unwilling to accept the latter.
Azig pondered for a moment and said: "In my opinion, it is safest to go back to Jianzhou via Fushun. Although the enemy's cavalry is lightly equipped to attack far away, its firepower cannot be underestimated. In Zunhua, the enemy also crossed the sea. Long range attack."
That's right, at that time Huang Taiji and other slave chiefs believed that the Dongjiang Army came from afar, lacked firepower, and was not too dominant in military strength, so it was completely capable of defeating them and carving out a passage.
But in fact, in a fierce battle, the Dongjiang Army's firepower was still fierce, causing them heavy casualties. Even Huang Taiji was captured alive, and Daishan, Mang Gurtai and others died on the battlefield.
Therefore, when Azig knew that the number of enemy cavalry was equal to that of his own army, he did not want to confront him head-on. At the same time, Dorgon also revealed his intention in his letter, which was to retreat from Fushun as soon as possible.
"The enemy does not defend Fushun, presumably because he is afraid that his troops will be divided and weak, and the two retreat routes cannot be blocked at all." Azig continued: "Besides, the enemy also has a navy, which may be advancing eastward along the Hun River. We must reach Fushun before our army and cut off our army’s second retreat route.”
Li Yongfang nodded repeatedly and said: "What Azigbele said is absolutely true. The enemy's navy has not moved for a long time. It should be to paralyze our army and prevent our army from retreating in a hurry, so as to consume our army's strength in the battle. Now, The situation has become clear, and the enemy will surely launch all-out attacks."
Dorgon finally didn't want to listen to other opinions. He had thought about it over and over again and believed that taking Fushun was the best retreat route. The later it was delayed, the more dangerous it would be.
He coughed dryly and said: "Deploy 10,000 elite cavalry, commanded by Duduo, and rush to Fushun immediately to defend the city and ensure a smooth retreat."
Duduo stood up to answer and glanced at Azig.
"The rest of the troops will be led by Azig to protect the troops and set off immediately to evacuate Shenyang and move towards Fushun." Dorgon issued the order again.
Azig also bowed down to accept the order, knowing that the situation was critical and he had to take action against the clock.
If the men and horses led by Azig did not rush back, Shenyang would only have less than 5,000 troops. Dorgon would not dare to send them out at all. He was also worried that the enemy's flying cavalry regiment would go south to attack Shenyang!
Now, the troops at hand suddenly became more abundant, and they were finally able to take action, without having to wait anxiously any longer.
"Suk Saha, Li Yongfang, you lead three thousand troops and set off finally, and act according to the plan." Dorgon's heart was bleeding, and his voice was trying to remain calm.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The so-called plan is destruction. The establishment of Shenyang, the capital of the captives, also went through a lot of construction. For example, the Khan's Palace and the mansion.
Since it can no longer be saved, Dorgon will not be left to the enemy. Everything that has been built and cannot be taken away will be burned to the ground.
This destruction plan is planned to be implemented after the soldiers and civilians have evacuated dozens of miles from Shenyang. This will prevent the fireworks from soaring into the sky and send a signal to the enemy in advance, so that they can march towards Shenyang with confidence.
At the same time, it also prevents the retreating soldiers and civilians from becoming even more depressed. Out of sight, out of mind, is just deceiving oneself and others.
There was another task that Dorgon did not announce in public, which was to dig graves, carry the old slave's coffin, and escape from Liaodong together.
Wherever he came from, the old slave never imagined that after he closed his eyes and burped, he would still have such a calamity. Unfortunately, even if he could jump out of the coffin, nothing would change.
Everyone followed the order and went down. Dorgon left Azig behind and said some more words before leaving.
The whole city of Shenyang immediately became noisy and chaotic. Duduo first led 10,000 elite cavalry out of the east gate and advanced towards Fushun at full speed, striving to occupy it as quickly as possible and ensure a continuous retreat.
Immediately after leaving the city, there were the tribesmen who were already waiting for orders.
Bannermen with their families, those on horseback, those in chariots, and some coated slaves carrying carts were walking in a panic, and the sounds of crying, making noises, and scoldings were intertwined and could be heard endlessly.
Although Dorgon had already moved his tribe to the north, the large-scale retreat was still very urgent, which was unexpected by most of the captives. The news that the Flying Cavalry Regiment had penetrated deep into the city to burn, kill and destroy only reached Shenyang two days ago.
.
In other words, the preparation time for Jianlu is only two days. Those in the city are okay, but those in the surrounding areas are still gathering in Shenyang. There may be some people who do not realize that the situation is already very critical.
However, Dorgon and other slave chiefs knew that the road to retreat was full of dangers. If only the army was fine, most of the captives were cavalry, which was faster than the infantry of the Dongjiang Army.
But with their troops, as well as food and supplies, it would be difficult for them to retreat unscathed from the pursuit of the Dongjiang Army. They could only hope to gain this little time, whether it was a day or half a day, but it was uncertain.
Dorgon walked in the Khan Palace with a heavy heart. The houses, buildings, trees, flowers and plants here would soon turn into ruins and ashes.
From raising an army to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, to sweeping across Liaodong, and then escaping in panic, it only took more than ten years. It was not long or short, and the ups and downs were like a dream.
"There is no more chance to return to Liaodong!" Dorgon squinted his eyes and looked at the Khan's Palace, feeling pain in his heart. Even if he was unwilling to do so, he still had a clearer understanding.
The goal of the Dongjiang Army is just to regain the entire Liaodong? Dorgon didn't see it that way.
If it were just Mao Wenlong, this might still be possible. But what about Guo Dajing, a young and promising general, how could he not be enterprising?
In other words, it is not safe to withdraw from Liaodong, and even Jianzhou cannot become a foothold. Retreating to Haixi, or even farther north, may be able to have the safety guarantee to recuperate and recuperate.
Of course, this is not a one-step job. Dorgon believed that after the Dongjiang Army regained the entire Liao Dynasty, it also needed to rest and operate.
At the very least, it is still very difficult to transport grain and grass supplies from the current Liaonan base to support the Dongjiang Army's northward expansion.
"King Khan." Suksaha came to report, "The servants have been arranged in the city. Please let King Khan drive."
Fire starters were placed in the city, and now it was the turn of the Khan Palace. Suksaha persuaded Dorgon to leave, so that he could lead his people to continue the work of self-destruction.
Dorgon nodded and said: "The enemy hasn't appeared yet, so you don't have to worry. The cavalry is fast, and the enemy can't catch up if they want to."
"My slave knows that he will personally lead the cavalry to the river bank to monitor." Suk Saha naturally knew what Dorgon meant, which was to implement the self-destruction plan as late as possible to confuse the enemy and buy time.
After all, the enemy did not know that Shenyang City was almost empty, so they still had to proceed ashore cautiously for reconnaissance and advance slowly.
If the self-destruction plan is started too early, the enemy will naturally be able to guess the outline when they see the fireworks, and then dare to move forward with confidence, or even start to pursue it.
Dorgon gave a few more words of comfort, then, accompanied by his guards, left the Khan Palace and rode away.
Still unable to suppress the reluctance in his heart, Dorgon walked far away and looked back again. The tall Khan Palace was still standing there, but it would soon collapse and burn in the flames.
With a heavy sigh, Dorgon turned around, immediately stepped up his whip, and galloped all the way.
………………
The good news of Liaoyang's recovery was sent to the capital as quickly as possible, and spread throughout Beijing as quickly as possible, once again setting off people's celebrations.
When Liaodong was still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, Liaoyang's status was higher than Shenyang, equivalent to the ruling center of Liaodong. Therefore, the significance of recovering Liaoyang had extremely important and special significance in the minds of the military and civilians.
"It took just a few days, maybe not even ten days, to capture Anshan Yi Gang. The Dongjiang Army besieged Liaoyang and destroyed the city in one fell swoop. It was amazing!"
"I heard that Guo Dajing led his army to surround Liaoyang City, but failed to attack the city. Mao Wenlong had to take command in person before he broke through Liaoyang and beheaded tens of thousands, achieving this great victory."
The middle-aged drinker spoke in a serious manner, attracting the attention of others and making it even more obvious that he knew the inside story and couldn't help but look a little complacent.
"Guo Dajing has never been defeated. If he says he doesn't know how to attack a city, I don't really believe it." A drinker who looked like a young scholar shook his head gently, not quite believing it.
"No matter who is commanding it, once Liaoyang falls, Pingliao is just around the corner." Someone tried to smooth things over and said with a smile: "Shenyang is the only important town in Liaodong. Jianlu will definitely defend it with all his strength, and the Dongjiang Army can determine victory in one battle.
"
The drinkers had no objections to this. The war in Liaodong for more than ten years was about to end, and everyone felt refreshed.
"It's a pity that the civil unrest in the northwest shows no sign of subside yet." The middle-aged drinker shook his head and found a topic to highlight himself, "Although the officers and soldiers won several battles, the rebels rushed into Western Henan and Northern Chu.
The officers and soldiers are too exhausted to pursue and suppress..."
After Hong Chengchou succeeded as the governor of the three sides, he changed Yang He's "border suppression and border pacification" to "all-out suppression" and the policy of "suppressing the strong and pacifying, first suppressing and then pacifying", and concentrated his forces to attack the peasant army in the northwest.
Under the pressure of the official army, the peasant army broke through to Qingyang. Hong Chengchou, together with the generals Cao Wenzhao and He Huchen, encircled and suppressed the peasant army. They fought dozens of times and the peasant army suffered heavy losses.
After being defeated, the peasant army moved to western Henan and northern Chu, where the Ming army was weak. With Yunyang as the center, its branches were interspersed between Henan, Chu, Sichuan and Shaanxi. They took advantage of the weakness of the official army to defend the territory separately and not coordinate with each other.
Conduct mobile operations of a guerrilla nature.
The Ming army had to guard key passes separately, was exhausted in pursuit and suppression, and fell into the dilemma of too long battle lines and scattered troops. The power of the rebel army gradually grew, and the Ming court faced another test.
"When Liaodong is pacified and the Dongjiang Army is mobilized, the bandits will be wiped out overnight." The young scholar put his wine glass on the table and said: "The combat power of the officers and soldiers in the pass is not even a little bit worse than that of the Dongjiang Army.
.”
The drinkers all agreed. In their opinion, the Jianlu were the most vicious, and the thieves were just hungry people with hoes and sticks. The Dongjiang Army could eliminate the Jianlu, so why bother with the thieves?
It's a pity that they don't fully understand the root cause of the frequent occurrence and development of rebels. Or, even if they know, they don't dare to directly denounce the court and accuse the emperor.