Chapter Seventeen: Datong's Shocking Changes Part 2
In the Battle of Shanhaiguan, the Qing army encountered a sneak attack and more than half of the Dashun army suffered casualties. It stands to reason that with such damage, the Dashun army should have collapsed and its soldiers dispersed.
However, Li Zicheng relied on the tenacious organizational power of the generals and veterans in the camp to collect the remaining troops along the way, break them into pieces, and still maintain a certain structure to retreat to the capital. In the process of retreating, he organized several pursuits and clearing operations behind him.
The army's ambush counterattack.
Both sides suffered losses, especially those of the Shun army. First, Liu Zongmin was seriously injured and fell unconscious, and then Gu Kecheng, who was intercepting the enemy, died. Zuo Guangxian, who had also intercepted the enemy, had his leg accidentally chopped off, and his whereabouts are unknown since then.
Leading the Qing army in pursuit was Aixinjueluo Duoduo, the leader of the Xiangbai Banner, who had risen to the rank of general of Dingguo. He had 60 Niulu soldiers under the Eight Banners, supplemented by three thousand Han Eight Banners Wuzhen Hachao.
There are more than 20,000 people in total.
In the past few days, Li Zicheng had become more and more familiar with the strength of the Qing army, and as his understanding deepened, he became more and more frightened.
He once ordered his men to throw gold and silver in the road in an attempt to slow down the pursuit of the Qing army. This trick was tried and tested against the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers, but it was ineffective at all when used on the Qing army. Moreover, what worried him most was the first time he encountered a battle.
The white-armored Ba Ya La of the Qing army, who must be the first, is called cavalry, but it is actually a type of heavy armored horse infantry. They wear three layers of armor from the inside out: chain armor, cotton armor, and iron armor. They are masters of cavalry and archery and are unparalleled in accurate foot combat.
The enemy could not be penetrated by arrows and could not be cut by swords. One enemy was ten, and he was killed so much that the Shun army called him the "White-armored King of Hell".
The second is the Wuzhenhachao Division. This is a firearms camp established by the Qing army using Han people outside the Pass. It has all kinds of artillery and muskets and is stronger than the Shun army. These are all attributed to Huang Taiji's emphasis on firearms, as well as the Ming Dynasty such as Kong Youde and Shang Kexi.
After the generals from the DPRK returned to the Qing Dynasty, they brought with them firearms technology and firearms aiming essentials.
At this point, even if the Shun army and the Qing army were still capable of fighting in the field, Li Zicheng was unwilling to fight again. He only wanted to withdraw to Shaanxi and wait for the troops scattered in Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, and Shaanxi to gather before making plans.
However, such behavior will undoubtedly hand over the capital and Hebei to the Qing army.
Of course, Li Zicheng was unwilling. After several days of forced march to the capital, he first killed Wu Xiang's entire family. And because he did not want the Qing army to easily gain the legitimacy of the throne, he ignored the obstruction and executed the previously captured heir of Chongzhen, namely Zhu Cixiang, the former Ming prince.
We must mourn King Zhu Cijiong and mourn King Zhu Cijiong forever.
Afterwards, in the capital and Hebei, they carried out a clearing of the country, plundered and took away all the gold, silver, grain and grass, and took the civil servants who were willing to accompany the army to Shaanxi and entered Shanxi from Jingxing in the Shimen area, guarding Guguan and Niangzi Pass.
News of the defeat at Shanhaiguan spread to all parts of Shanxi at extremely fast speeds.
At the same time, reports about the destruction of the capital city and the mass suicide of Chongzhen had just reached Yingtian Mansion (Nanjing).
Since Dashun's army came to the capital, the imperial court's decrees have been no longer available. After the six ministers of Yingtian received Chongzhen's order to "order the world to raise troops to serve the king", there was no news from the capital. King Qin again, and there was no news at all.
This made Nanjing's yamen ministers, garrison eunuchs, and ministers increasingly uneasy.
In the first secret pavilion of the Ministry of War, Shi Kefa, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, gathered the high officials of the DPRK and the Central Committee here and held a closed meeting.
The matter discussed was nothing more than Emperor Chongzhen's great success, but the whereabouts of his descendants were unknown. Which vassal king should be appointed as the master of the country? This matter was divided into two factions in the court. One was based on the blood relationship of Prince Fu, who lived in Huai'an.
Zhu Yousong was the best in terms of ethics and geography, and the knowledgeable people in the court all supported King Fu.
The other faction was composed of Donglin and Fushe members. Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Donglin Party, took the lead in proposing to change Zhu Changxun, the king of Lu. What was the reason? In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty wanted to make Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu, the crown prince, but this was done by the Donglin Party members. The story turned into nothing. And Zhu Changxun’s son is Zhu Yousong. If King Fu ascends the throne, how can he not settle this matter with the Donglin Party?
The Donglin Party members were frightened by this, so they ignored moral order and only supported Lu Wang Zhu Changxi for their own selfish desires.
"At this time of crisis, if there is still internal fighting, can the Ming Dynasty survive?" Shi Kefa looked at the two gangs fighting against each other, and his heart was filled with sorrow. Now Shi Kefa has a pivotal position in Yingtian, and is also called the chief minister. It's not an exaggeration, but the more this happens, the more difficult it becomes for him, because his decision will truly affect the direction of the entire country.
Master Shi Ke studied under Zuo Guangdou, and Zuo Guangdou was a member of the Donglin Party, so he also had the label of Donglin. However, does it really violate the ethical principles to establish a relationship without establishing a relationship?
"Alas." Shi Kefa sighed helplessly amid the quarrels among the people around him...
Chongzhen, who was far away in Datong, did not know and could not predict the death of his heir. Because in his memory of later generations, he only had a certain understanding of some major nodes in history and did not know the specific context. If he wanted to blame himself, he could only blame himself for being a person in later generations. Science students don't study history well.
It has been seven or eight days since Yang Bo went to Yanggao to recruit troops, but he still has not returned.
Chongzhen was not idle either. He dragged Song Xiancai around the city and asked him to introduce him to generals and officials of the compliant army.
No, today Song Xiancai organized a drinking bureau in Fenglin Pavilion, saying that a big shot was coming.
After Chongzhen washed up, he put on a blue gown and looked at himself in the bronze mirror. He was much younger than before, as if he had returned to his younger years. He suddenly remembered a foreign movie he had watched in later generations. He looked very young now. Okay, but don't really rejuvenate yourself.
Chongzhen made fun of the matter, got ready, and went out to the restaurant with Song Xiancai for an appointment. After the two left, Wang Chengen quietly walked out of Chongzhen's room and left through the back door.
Pushing open the bead curtain of Room No. 1 of Tianzi in Fenglin Pavilion, Chongzhen saw at a glance that the clerk at the door of the Imperial Palace was sitting there. There was also a dark evil man sitting next to him, with his chest exposed and his arms holding the same clothes. The disheveled Meiji was busy raising and lowering her hands on her own.
The clerk also saw Chongzhen, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a playful look on his face.
Song Xiancai led Chongzhen to sit down and introduced him: "Come on, let me introduce you to the two adults."
"This is Captain Gu, whom I mentioned to you before. He is my brother..."
Before he finished speaking, the clerk interrupted and said, "Sir Captain, when we said goodbye that day, you looked even more charming."
Song Xiancai looked confused and looked at the two of them. Do you know each other?
Chongzhen replied calmly: "I didn't expect to see each other so soon after we talked about it another day. It's fate."
"Hey, do you know each other?" the evil man stopped what he was doing and asked, while the clerk remained silent.
"This is General Zhang." Song Xiancai felt that the atmosphere was a little strange, poured the wine and introduced Chongzhen.
Chongzhen clasped his fists at the evil man and said, "But Guo Tianxing Zhang Tianlin?"
"Do you know him?" Zhang Tianlin thought he was a fellow from Shaanxi and called himself Qi.
"I don't know you, but I've heard of Zhang Da's reputation in Beijing, and Military Advisor Song has high praise for you."
Regardless of whether he was flattering or not, Zhang Tianlin just wanted to listen to her and laughed loudly, "Drink, drink!"
Everyone raised their glasses and drank it all in one gulp. Zhang Tianlin reluctantly asked Mei Ji to wait for him next door, obviously preparing to talk about business.
"Lao Ke, how did you two meet? You didn't tell me just now."
The clerk then answered: "We just met once. The captain asked Lao Song to invite us here this time. Is it to recruit soldiers?"
"Recruiting soldiers? Recruiting what soldiers?" Zhang Tianlin asked.
Chongzhen said: "Master Ke is joking. There are two adults sitting in charge. How dare I dare to recruit troops? It's just that before leaving, the Song military advisor told me to train some housekeepers for the Song government."
"That's it? It doesn't count..." Zhang Tianlin thought it was a big deal. After hearing what Chongzhen said, she was about to agree, but was stopped by an adult named Ke.
"I haven't introduced myself yet, and I feel ashamed to say it. I am none other than Ke Tianxiang. I used a false name to test the captain that day. I offended him a lot. I hope the captain will forgive me. However, Ke does have an acquaintance working in the rear camp. Recently, I
I had exchanged letters with him, so I asked him about the situation of the Captain, but maybe my friend was blind or something? He actually said that there was no such person as the Captain. What do you think this is all about?"
Zhang Tianlin also heard something fishy from Ke Tianxiang's words, and stared at the two people across the table with wide eyes. Song Xiancai was too scared to look up, and kicked Chongzhen repeatedly, wondering what was going on.
Calculating mentally but not intentionally, today's test was indeed not easy. Chongzhen kept calm and responded calmly: "A certain person has been sent to your army and has been working with the Song military advisor. Your brother doesn't know. Isn't that normal?"
Ke Tianxiang stood up leisurely, walked around the wine table, and said: "What the captain said is reasonable, but the captain once said that he worked in the Jinyi Guards before. Ke was also curious, so he asked my brother
I checked the list of surrendered ministers, Lao Zhang, guess what?"
"How to say?"
"My brother said, no such person has been found!"
Zhang Tianlin lifted the table and stood up. Chongzhen grabbed Song Xiancai and jumped back quickly to avoid being splashed by the food. Hearing a loud commotion in the room, the Dashun Army soldiers outside the door filed in one after another, drawing knives to surround the two.
.
Song Xiancai was so frightened that he was paralyzed. He had no idea what was going on. Why did he start using weapons in just a few words? My brother's letter was definitely true, but this...
I saw that Chongzhen was not afraid at all. He raised his head and chest and looked at everyone, and said with a smile: "There are only two toads left behind in Datong. Sitting in the well and looking at the sky, how much do you two know about the things in the capital? Let me see, who dares to kill me today?"
As soon as these words were said, the soldiers didn't know what to do. They quickly looked at the two superior officers, and the tip of their swords couldn't help but move farther away from Chongzhen.
How could Ke Tianxiang, who wanted to investigate Chongzhen with just one appearance, be able to impress him with just one sentence? He said to Chongzhen, "Then please prove yourself, Mr. Duwei, otherwise my life may not be guaranteed."
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the corridor outside the door. A general wearing a Ming Dynasty-style mountain armor and dozens of soldiers rushed in. Each soldier held a crossbow and aimed at everyone in the room.
Seeing Jiang Yu and others rushing in, Zhang Tianlin shouted angrily: "What are you doing, you bitch? Do you want to rebel against grandpa?"
"Jiang Yu! You!" Ke Tianxiang pointed at the door, feeling relieved just now.
Jiang Quan held the knife on his waist, without saying a word, and with a "clang" sound, the knife was half-sheathed.
The crossbow-wielding soldiers fired all powerful crossbows, and the room was instantly filled with dead and wounded. Song Xiancai covered his head and knelt down and moved to the corner, shivering.
Apart from Jiang Quan and his soldiers, Chongzhen was the only one standing in the room. Chongzhen faced Jiang Quan with his hands behind his back and did not move a step.
Song Xiancai squinted and saw Jiang Quan walking towards Chongzhen with a knife, and thought to himself: "It's over, it's our turn."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Quan respectfully walked around Chongzhen and cut off all the heads of Ke and Zhang. Then he took their bloody heads and knelt down in front of Chongzhen.
"The criminal Datong Commander-in-Chief Jiang Quan has failed the emperor. Please grant him death!" After saying this, he held the knife flat and handed it to Chongzhen, but he did not dare to look at Chongzhen's face.
The rest of the soldiers also fell to their knees for a while.
The window was blown open by the wind, Chongzhen's gown fluttered slightly, and he took the bloody knife from Jiang Yu's hand.
Jiang Quan had already resigned himself to his fate, lowered his head and closed his eyes. From the moment he met Wang Eunuch at the main town office, he has been suffering every day and night until today, he finally made up his mind and arranged everything.
Chongzhen squatted down slowly and handed the knife to Jiang Gan. Jiang Gan raised his head and looked at the emperor who was "equal" to him.
"The general of Datong, Jiang Quan, listened to the order, brought order to the chaos, and quelled the thieves on my behalf."
"promise!"
.....
"Boom... bang" a cloud-piercing sound caused the arrow to fly up and explode, waking up Datong Fucheng. This chapter has been completed!