Li Zicheng had already thought of withdrawing his troops, not from Shanhaiguan, but to abandon the entire Beizhili.
Food shortage!
Even if the Manchus can be defeated in this battle, Li Zicheng will be completely out of food. Once the food is cut off, not only will the army explode, but most of the people in Beijing will also starve to death. What is the point of being an emperor like this?
It is better to withdraw from the whirlpool of Beizhili, take the army to other places to get food, and then come back when the food is sufficient.
Even if they want to retreat, they have to kill the Manchu and Qing cavalry in the pass, otherwise they are likely to retreat until the whole army collapses.
When Haoge and Dorgon came again with cavalry, Li Zicheng also led cavalry to fight, but this time the equipment of Dashun cavalry changed.
Do not carry bows and arrows, especially quivers, as several quivers are heavy and heavy.
The inner armor was also taken off, and only the cotton armor for defense against bows and arrows was worn. Even the armor plates in the cotton armor were removed.
Everything is just to reduce the load of the cavalry.
The surviving boy army also has this set of equipment.
Dashun Xiaoqi and Dashun Boy Army together only have 10,000 people left.
Hauge and Dorgon also wanted to play tricks, and they dispersed into countless groups of cavalry, and the formation was so messy that it was outrageous.
The Dashun cavalry didn't care about anything. They even threw their bows and arrows at Shanhaiguan. Under the leadership of Li Zicheng, they divided into several groups and charged directly against the rain of arrows.
That is to say, life is exchanged for life. After the Dashun cavalry lost weight, they could quickly catch up with the Manchu cavalry who armored the key parts of the horses.
This time it was replaced by Hauge, and Dorgon was stunned. Because the formation of the Manchu and Qing cavalry was too scattered, after the cavalry from both sides engaged, a Manchu and Qing cavalry was often surrounded and killed by several Dashun cavalry.
Of course, the Dashun cavalry also had a difficult time. Each enemy group was scattered and few, and after killing them, they had to find the next group. During the pursuit, they would be killed by arrows.
The entire battle process can be simply divided into two links:
Dashun cavalry pursued and were shot to death by Manchu cavalry.
The Dashun cavalry caught up and killed the Manchu and Qing cavalry.
After a battle, Dorgon and Hauge couldn't hold it anymore and immediately ordered the cavalry to assemble.
After the assembly was completed, Li Zicheng did not dare to rush again.
Because they couldn't charge, the Manchu and Qing cavalry were better equipped and had the advantage of bows and arrows. Once assembled, they could beat the weight-reduced Dashun cavalry.
Li Zicheng directly ordered the withdrawal. Their horses were now so fast that the Manchu cavalry could not catch up.
In this battle, both sides suffered more than a thousand casualties each, and the score was almost one to one.
Huang Taiji continued to bombard wildly outside Shanhaiguan. After the bombardment, he ordered the Han army to attack the city.
That afternoon, the cavalry engaged again.
This time Li Zicheng brought bows and arrows, and both sides used traditional cavalry tactics.
After fighting, Hauge and Dorgon played tricks again. Li Zicheng ordered the entire army to throw away their quivers, and they did not wear inner armor or cotton armor at all.
Another exchange of lives for lives, the Manchu and Qing cavalry did not dare to play anymore and regrouped to fight. Li Zicheng withdrew to Shanhaiguan again.
Dorgon and Hauge were really scared!
Twenty thousand cavalry rushed across the Great Wall. After several cavalry battles, only 14,000 were killed. Although Li Zicheng's cavalry died more, how many Manchu warriors were there in total?
In the next three days, although the Manchu and Qing cavalry would come over, they did not dare to approach Shanhaiguan for fear of being overtaken by Li Zicheng and risking their lives.
In fact, the Manchu and Qing cavalry could slightly adjust their tactics to defeat Li Zicheng's style of play. Although they still traded lives with Li Zicheng with their equipment advantages, they still exchanged lives.
That night, Li Zicheng lured and killed Ma Ke, who was contemplating surrender, in the name of discussing military affairs.
Then in the middle of the night, he led Dashun's elite troops and quickly evacuated Shanhaiguan. Except for the civilians who were transporting food (there was not much food left), the rest of the surrendered troops were abandoned.
The next day, they encountered Manchu cavalry and the infantry withdrew cautiously. Li Zicheng personally led the cavalry and went to expel Dorgon and Hauge.
After bypassing Funing, because there were no enemies in front, and because Li Zicheng abandoned Shanhaiguan, the elite of the Dashun Army began to deteriorate. Especially the old thieves, they knew that if Shanhaiguan was lost, Beijing would definitely not be able to defend it, so they looted along the way.
, and even insulted women to vent their desires.
Li Zicheng turned a blind eye to this, and Qiu Wulin's Dashun army once again turned into a traditional bandit.
…
Niu Jinxing, who stayed behind in Beijing, had received the news in advance and quickly organized manpower to transport the goods.
Li Zicheng did not dare to go to Shandong. Even if he captured Shandong, he was afraid of being attacked by the Qing Dynasty and Zhao Han. He wanted to retreat to Shanxi, then capture Shaanxi, and perhaps form an alliance with Zhang Xianzhong.
In the past few decades of fighting with the Manchus, Li Zicheng only had more than 50,000 elite men left, and the number of cavalry was sharply reduced to several thousand.
Sun Chuanting took the initiative to help organize the transfer, got two horses to pull the cart, and then quickly ran back to his residence: "Hurry up, take the trip south immediately!"
"good!"
Concubine Tian brought a bag of coarse grains, only three kilograms. They only had so much grain because the officials' rations were also rationed.
There was plenty of money, but Li Zicheng was so poor that he only had money left. Sun Chuanting served as the left minister of the military government and immediately received a settlement allowance of ten taels of silver.
Those civil servants who were sent out to take over the prefectures and counties also had money to earn.
Li Zicheng couldn't afford food, so he could only give out more money.
Before Dashun's elite came back, the city of Beijing was already in chaos. Concubine Tian Guifei held her child in her arms and rode a horse, and quickly fled under the leadership of Sun Chuanting.
Wang Tingchen, who had been blocked outside the city because the city gate was closed, also rushed into the city with his cavalry. Their family members were all in Beijing, and they quickly went home and left immediately with their relatives. Cao Bianjiao also led the cavalry.
Come and join us.
Although Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao cannot enter the city these days, they are not sitting outside the city waiting around.
They seized several large ships, which were merchant ships that had docked in nearby towns after the canal was blocked. They also used food to recruit a group of boatmen.
As for how the food came from, of course it was borrowed from the gentry’s homes. Could it be that the people of Beizhili still had food to grab?
After Li Zicheng occupied Beijing, the gentry far away from the capital were not liquidated, and even enjoyed the treatment of not being able to pay grain. Li Zicheng initially preached that they would not be paid grain, and after he ascended the throne, he said that they would not be paid grain for five years, and finally it became three years.
Ride horses and boats and leave quickly.
Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao now have a very good relationship. One only has more than 200 cavalry, and the other only has more than 100 cavalry. They must stay together to keep warm. Cao Bianjiao even waited for many days to help Wang Tingchen go to the city to pick up his family.
When they reached the border of Xianghe County, a group of cavalry suddenly chased them, shouting at the cavalry team: "But Commander Cao and Commander Wang are in front of you?"
This man was stopped by the cavalry and shouted again: "I am Sun Chuanting!"
When there was a commotion, Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao came over to check the situation and were surprised: "It's actually Governor Sun?"
"Are you two going south?" Sun Chuanting asked.
Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao looked at each other and asked, "Where are Governor Sun going?"
Sun Chuanting asked: "How about joining Zuo Liangyu?"
Cao Bianjiao smiled and said: "Master Sun, don't try to trick me. How could you seek refuge with Zuo Liangyu? I'm afraid you will go to Nanjing to seek refuge with that King of Wu."
"Where are the two generals?" Sun Chuanting neither denied nor admitted.
Wang Tingchen said: "Zuo Liangyu is unreliable, and we have a grudge against the bandits, so we have no choice but to go to Nanjing. Even if we can't lead troops in the future, we can live a peaceful life."
"Then let's go on the road together," Sun Chuanting waved to the rear, and Concubine Tian Guifei came on horseback, "This is the widow of an old friend, can you let her get on the boat?"
Wang Tingchen smiled and said, "Please help yourself."
The group continued to move forward to Yangcun, and found that there were more pedestrians along the way. And it was very strange. These people, dragging their families with them, actually fled towards the north.
Going to the north to eat dirt?
Sun Chuanting rode forward and was about to ask about the situation. He suddenly caught a glimpse of the body beside the road and turned back in shock: "Don't come into contact with strangers. There may be a big epidemic ahead!"
"Great epidemic?" Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao were both frightened and confused.
Not only was there a major epidemic, but plague and smallpox came together and were spreading from Shandong to surrounding provinces.
The family members on the boat did not dare to get off the boat, and the cavalry did not dare to come into contact with anyone. They moved forward cautiously. They only occasionally got off the boat to draw water from the well, and they had to repeatedly confirm whether there was a body in the well.
Fortunately, they were not short of food for the time being and had borrowed a lot from the gentry.
When passing through Tianjin, the city gates were wide open. The Tianjin officials appointed by Li Zicheng were so frightened that they fled due to the spread of the plague.
When they arrived in Cangzhou, everyone was about to run out of food, so they had to venture into the city to borrow food.
Cangzhou is an important place with a high city and a deep pool. However, it was undefended at this time and the city was in chaos. Hundreds of cavalry rushed into the city and found that every house was closed and there were very few pedestrians on the street.
After struggling for a long time, I finally borrowed grain from a grain merchant and brought a lot of well water from a wealthy family.
The closer they got to Shandong, the more serious the epidemic became, so Sun Chuanting and the others had no choice but to bite the bullet and head south.
It was precisely because of the epidemic in Shandong that the checkpoints along the canal were relaxed. Zuo Liangyu's soldiers hid and did not dare to go out. Similarly, Zhao Han did not dare to send troops to Shandong, but only set up checkpoints to block the people going south.
Facing the horrific plague, all military plans must be scrapped.
At this time, swallowing up Shandong is just seeking death. Even if there is no fight with Zhang Xianzhong, Zhao Han will not take risks in Shandong.
As the team reached the border of Yutai County, what Sun Chuanting was worried about happened.
When a family member contracted smallpox and two cavalrymen contracted the plague, Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao responded quickly.
The family members got off the boat, the cavalry left the team, and they were given two bags of grain to fend for themselves.
By the time we reached the border of Peixian County, the number of people infected with the plague had increased to double digits, and the entire team was in panic.
But apart from abandoning the infected person, they had nothing to do, and they did not even dare to leave alone.
The team finally arrived in Xuzhou, but were blocked on the other side of the Huaihe River and were not allowed to cross.
Every day, Datong soldiers patrolled the river in rowing boats and drove back those who tried to cross the river. This was extremely inhumane, but it was necessary. The plague must not be allowed to spread southward.
"I have a way, maybe I can give it a try." Sun Chuanting said.
Cao Bianjiao asked: "What can I do?"
Sun Chuanting finally told the truth: "We have a prince on board, we just want to see if the other side will let him go."
Two merchant ships sailed to the center of the river, and soon the Datong Army came by boat.
The soldier raised his musket and shouted: "Go back immediately. If you dare to cross the river again, we will be waiting with artillery fire from the shore!"
Concubine Tian held her infant son who was suffering from fever, knelt on the deck and said loudly: "Concubine Tian of the Ming Dynasty, please take the prince and ask the King of Wu to take him in!"
The soldiers did not dare to neglect and went back to report to their superiors.
Fei Ruhe discussed with the magistrate of Xuzhou and agreed to allow these people to cross the river, but they must be isolated by the river for a month.
Not only Concubine Tian, but also other people who smuggled across the country were treated in this way.
There are always people taking advantage of loopholes to cross the border secretly, can they all be driven back? Some of Zhao Han's territories are not blocked by rivers, so it is easier for people to come over.
At the borders of jurisdictions, in counties, villages and towns, grassroots officials and farmers' associations are already functioning.
The people were mobilized to defend themselves in groups. Once strangers entered the village, they were immediately driven to the outermost edge of the village and ordered to isolate themselves for at least a month.
After a month when they haven't gotten sick, they are asked to boil water and boil their clothes, and their whole bodies are washed several times before they can be allowed to take refuge in the village.
Shandong has already exploded, North Zhili is about to explode, and after the Manchus enter the country, they will find themselves in a land of plague.
(Although the third update is late, I am here. Please vote for me.)
