In fact, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had no shortage of population, because they brought back tens of thousands of Han people from Northern Zhili and captured many slaves in Korea and Mongolia.
The only thing missing is the flag men, the soldiers of the Eight Banners of Manchuria!
Dorgon retreated to Yaozhou, raising military supplies while recruiting troops and reorganizing them. The number of troops in the Inner Eight Banners quickly returned to 100,000.
But the 100,000 Eight Banners soldiers at this time are not the same as the 100,000 a few years ago.
Shandong, Henan, and Liaodong were defeated several times. Although the Eight Banners of Manchuria and the Eight Banners of Mongolia were replenished to about 70,000 people, the combat effectiveness of the army declined, and secondly, there were fewer and fewer bannermen available for recruitment.
The combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners of the Han Army has dropped even more significantly, with losses approaching 20,000. After replenishment and reorganization, many of the Han Eight Banners' garrison troops have surrendered their troops and generals in the past two years.
The military and political system of the Manchu and Qing dynasties could not rest and recuperate; it had to maintain a large number of troops for a long time.
Especially when facing a decline, it is even more important to expand the army and prepare for war. Only in this way can we subdue the savage Jurchens, subdue the foreign Mongols, and subdue the monarchs and ministers of Korea.
Farther north on the grassland, the Khalkha Mongols are eyeing us.
The last time the Manchus attacked and plundered the Mongolian tribes, it was only the Chechen Khan tribe in the Mongolia of Khalkha. This tribe alone could mobilize 30,000 cavalry (which was disabled a few months ago). In addition, the tribe of Khachen
The large tribes of the Erkha Mongolia, as well as the Tushetu Khan tribe and the Tuohite tribe, were all waiting for the decline of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to take action.
In the area around Lake Baikal, there are also Buryat Mongols, among whom the Balahu tribe borders the Manchu territory.
If Dorgon does not maintain a large army, the Outer Mongols will rebel in minutes, and the Khalkha Mongols and Buryat Mongols will attack with large armies!
It was delayed until mid-October when the main force of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which had been reorganized, set off from Jinzhou to rescue Shanhaiguan. If they did not go to rescue Shanhaiguan, the Eight Banners defenders of Shanhaiguan would have to kill the people for military rations. And when Dorgon besieged Gaizhou, Ningyuan,
Jinzhou's more than 10,000 defenders had already gone to Shanhaiguan to rescue them, but lost more than 2,000 people and fled in embarrassment.
When the Manchu and Qing armies arrived at Shaheyi (near Suizhong), Dorgon received a battle report from the vanguard: "Your Highness, the enemy troops are already withdrawing!"
Dorgon looked gloomy and ordered: "Stop the entire army and order the Pioneer Battalion to retake Weiyuan Terrace and station it there immediately to guard against enemy counterattacks."
The army came to rescue and saved a lonely person.
Dorgon's main force was still nearly a hundred miles away from Shanhaiguan, and the vanguard was only forty miles away from Shanhaiguan.
Even though they were so far apart, those damn Nanbarbarians actually escaped by boat!
It was a war of attrition for grain and grass. Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu besieged Shanhaiguan without attacking, consuming three months of military rations in vain. Dorgon led a large army to rescue, and back and forth, even if there was no fighting, he still consumed a lot of military rations.
.
Let's see who can't hold on first.
Fearing that the Datong Army would come again, Dorgon deployed two thousand defenders on the small Weiyuan Terrace. With so many soldiers, Weiyuan Terrace was crowded with people. Normally, they had to be stationed nearby. In the event of a war, they could retreat in an emergency to hold on.
.
Just when Dorgon was finishing the withdrawal, he received another message: "Your Highness, the Southern Barbarians are plundering the countryside of Yaozhou and Haizhou and spreading lime everywhere on the cultivated farmland!"
"Spread lime?" Dorgon didn't understand.
The messenger explained: "According to noble people who know how to farm, if lime is spread on the fields, the yield of crops will be reduced next year. If too much lime is spread, the seeds will not germinate."
The lime mentioned here is quicklime!
Dorgon was stunned when he heard this, and then gritted his teeth and said: "What a vicious heart, how is this different from burning down the pasture in the grassland?"
…
In the Liaodong Peninsula, there are lime mines in the mountainous area east of Fuzhou City.
Zhao Han sent some craftsmen over to bake cement in Liaodong. A simple fortress was built in each town. Most of the workers digging lime mines were prisoners of war.
After the Gaizhou Defense War, cement production was temporarily stopped and quicklime was burned in large quantities!
Thousands of dragoons, one person and two horses, each set off with dozens of kilograms of quicklime. They were tied horizontally on the horse's back. When they encountered land with few weeds (cooked land), they poked a hole in the sack and galloped away.
sprinkled along the way.
At this time, it had already snowed in Liaodong, and quicklime was sprinkled on the snow, ensuring that it would be impossible to grow food next year.
"The enemy is coming!"
"Haha, let's go!"
Wu Huapu laughed and rode away. There were thousands of Manchu and Qing defenders in Haizhou and Yaozhou cities. They were probably angered by the actions of the Datong army. They occasionally ventured out of the city and pursued them on horseback.
However, the dragoons did not engage in battle at all. They sent out sentries far away, fled immediately when encountering the enemy, and never went deep into the hinterland of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.
On the contrary, the population in the countryside was moved further north, and the Datong Army did not capture many prisoners this time.
Anyway, it just means the same thing. Gaizhou, Yaozhou, and Haizhou are more than a hundred miles apart. In the next two or three years, no one can even think about growing food!
Dorgon returned to Shenyang and convened a meeting of the Eight Banners nobles.
This time they actually united, stopped mentioning their past grudges, and focused on discussing how to develop in the future.
Dai Shan said: "The dragon cavalry of the Nanmanzi are very annoying in battle. I, the Qing Dynasty, should also train one."
Jierhalang echoed: "The shotgun vests of the Han army flag can be converted into dragoons."
Dorgon nodded and said, "This makes sense. It's time to start training in the spring."
The shotgun vests of the Eight Banners of the Han Army were included in the Manchu and Qing cavalry battalions. They went out with the Manchu and Qing cavalry, rushed to the battlefield on horseback, and then dismounted and fought in the posture of firecrackers. In essence, they were no different from the Datong dragoons.
In terms of tactics, there is a big difference.
The shotgun and vests of the Han military flag were used only for traveling, and the formation of musketry and infantry was still used in battle.
Now that they were beaten hard by the Datong dragoons, the Manchus began to learn new tactics and wanted to fully transform the shotgun and vest into dragoons.
Jierhalang added: "The Southern Barbarians are not the Ming Dynasty, so Gaizhou City cannot be attacked by force. Perhaps we can send agents to the south to alienate the Nanjing monarch and his ministers, and create rumors that the Gaizhou garrison intends to rebel."
Tong Yangxing said: "I have inquired about it. The generals of Gaizhou are named Hu Dinggui, the generals of Fuzhou and Jinzhou are named Li Zheng and Xiao Zongxian, and there is also Lu Xiangsheng who leads the Xiaoqi. Hu Dinggui, Li Zheng, and Xiao Zongxian are all Southern Barbarian emperors.
Lu Xiangsheng was the only general who was surrendered by the Ming Dynasty. It is best to start with Lu Xiangsheng for the plan of alienation. It is said that Lu Xiangsheng is plotting to restore the Ming Dynasty and is arrogant and domineering in Liaodong. There are often words of longing for the old master of the Ming Dynasty. "
Dorgon said: "This Hu Dinggui is also a general. We can forge his letters secretly communicating with our Qing Dynasty, and perhaps we can recruit this person to surrender."
Dorgon has been studying Huang Taiji, including this strategy of recruiting and surrendering enemy generals.
Take Zu Dashou, for example. He once led his troops to pretend to surrender, and then abandoned his son and generals and ran away.
Instead of expressing anger, Huang Taiji wrote to Zu Dashou, saying that he would treat his son and generals well. He also asked Zu Dashou to pay attention to safety and not to let Chongzhen know about the surrender. After some greetings, he also said that the Qing Dynasty would be waiting at any time.
Zu Dashou returned.
Historically, Zu Dashou pretended to surrender and escaped, then fought with the Manchus for ten years and killed many Manchu soldiers. In the end, he had no choice but to surrender. Huang Taiji abided by the agreement and entrusted Zu Dashou and his family with important responsibilities.
Regardless of national interests, would you feel anything in your heart when faced with such a "British Master"?
It's okay to say that Zu Dashou at least did well in the Ming Dynasty. Kong Youde is quite gratifying. People like Geng Zhongming were treated so badly in the Ming Dynasty, but when they went to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they were treated politely by Huang Taiji. Comparing the two, they can be compared.
Those guys were moved to tears.
Dorgon has now begun to play this trick. He plans to write letters to Hu Dinggui, Li Zheng, Xiao Zongxian, and Lu Xiangsheng in person.
He didn't want to surrender, but just expressed his admiration, gave him a few fur coats in the middle of winter, and exchanged some greetings with him. First, he wanted to build a relationship with the generals of Datong, and secondly, it was a precursor to a plan to alienate Datong, and he used this method to disgust the monarchs and ministers of Datong.
Next, you can also secretly give gold and silver, and secretly give gifts to beautiful maids.
Especially in Nanjing, they started with the family members of civil servants in Datong. They gave benefits to the family members little by little, and unknowingly dragged them down, thus creating an established fact. The civil servants got the property again, but they were afraid of exposing their family members to have connections with the Manchus, so they said
Maybe they will secretly help and become an insider.
These Manchu nobles were not only good at fighting!
"The most important thing now is food," Dorgon said. "The army went to Gaizhou first, and then to Shanhaiguan. They repeatedly deployed troops and generals, and the army's food consumption was huge. If we don't do something, we may be able to survive this winter.
, there will definitely be a famine next spring.”
Hauge said: "It is cold and snowy in winter, so it is impossible to go to the grassland. The Han people in Beizhili are also too poor to have food to grab. It is better to go to North Korea."
"How much food can North Korea have?" Mandahai asked rhetorically.
Hauge said: "No matter how much food he has, if he robs it, he can always grab some. Moreover, North Korea is full of soldiers and generals. They will flee when they see the Qing soldiers. It is much easier to go to North Korea to fight than to fight on the grassland. It is basically
There is no need to bring civilian husbands with them. Each person sets out with a soldier, and there is no need to prepare much food and grass. After the snow melts in the spring, they will kill all the way to the North Korean royal city and force the North Korean king to deliver the food himself. Then kidnap North Korean civilians to work as civilian laborers to transport food.
, In this way, the lost population is also available, and the food for next year is also available."
"What a great idea!" Jirharan praised.
Going to the grasslands to rob is somewhat risky, but going to North Korea to fight the autumn wind is extremely safe. You don't even need to consider logistics. You can send troops with half a month's worth of food.
Poor North Korea has not yet recovered from the previous plunder. It has been forced to sell grain by the Datong Army many times. Next year, it will usher in another plunder by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
The entire North Korea will be devastated, and even two classes of nobles will not be spared!
After agreeing on the matter of grabbing grain, Daishan suddenly said: "There are signs of rebellion in Mongolia in the Outer Mongolia. Gurushi Qibu, who took the lead in avoiding the war in the previous period, must be dealt with according to the rules. But he cannot kill him directly, otherwise he will force the Mongolia in the Outer Mongolia.
opposite."
Dorgon had long thought about it and said: "Remove this man's military title and support his brother to replace him. It is best to let the two brothers kill each other."