stubborn thief

Emperor Chongde had a dream.

The dream was a long one, in which his army was suddenly attacked.

The guns and cannons were overwhelming, and the red-armored cavalry were charging from all sides. No one could resist, so the various flags fled in panic and were in a very embarrassing situation. Even the emperor's Lu Bo was lost.

Wake yourself up straight away.

I woke up with weak limbs and my left hand and foot were a little out of control. When I thought about it, the blood vessels in my forehead were throbbing and I almost passed out from anger again.

It’s bad, we really lost the battle.

I lost a battle and was tortured three times, and I was not let go even in my dreams!
Emperor Chongde was so angry that he pounded the shaft of the jolting carriage and cursed: "Chengzong! Chengzong!"

Dorgon, wearing dirty armor, was riding a horse and guarding not far away. When he saw the movement on the carriage, he rode over with a happy look on his face. Only when he got closer did he hear Huang Taiji cursing.

Dorgon was frightened and quickly approached and said anxiously: "Holy Khan, things have come to this point. The dragon's body is the most important. Don't get angry again!"

Dorgon's eyes were bloodshot, and the velvet surface of his dark blue satin python armor was worn in many places, with traces of being cut by a knife. His cheeks were sunken, making him, who was already thin, look even more like a punching bag, embarrassed and pitiful.

Huang Taiji listened to the advice, suppressed his anger and grievance, looked at Dorgon distressedly and said: "It's just a battle, why do you look like you haven't slept for three days...Did Liu Chengzong's army withdraw?"

Dorgon was already feeling wronged, and when he heard Huang Taiji's words, his bloodshot eyes almost shed tears: "Holy Khan, you've been unconscious for five days!"

During these five days, Dorgon did not dare to rest for a moment. Even if he was so sleepy that he dozed off on horseback, he would wake up after walking a short distance, check on Huang Taiji's condition, and feed him some soup.

If Huang Taiji didn't wake up, he would send a fast horse to send a message to Daishan who stayed in Shengjing, asking the great prince to make preparations for the emperor's funeral.

To the surprise of Emperor Chongde, Dorgon said, "We have now entered the border wall. Liu Chengzong's army was still at Aohan Beach three days ago. Yierden led 20 cavalrymen to explore outside the border and has not returned yet."

Up to this point, Huang Taiji had not yet recovered from the blow of the defeat and could only listen to Dorgon's deployment, exploration, and intelligence analysis over the past few days.

Liu Chengzong was really crazy. He didn't even move after the battle. He camped near the battlefield for many days, and a large group of vultures circled around him.

"Fortunately, it seems that Liu Chengzong no longer has the energy to pursue... casualties?"

When Emperor Chongde just woke up, he wanted to ask this, but he was very scared and didn't dare to hear the specific answer.

I can only hold it in my throat and feel better if I don't spit it out.

At this point, he had made enough mental preparations before he asked Dorgon, "How many casualties are there?"

Dorgon's face originally showed joy at seeing Huang Taiji escape death, but he was stunned when he heard the words and almost cried on the spot.

Emperor Chongde died in one slept. Yuetuo and Haoge were juniors. As for Duoduo, let alone taking any responsibility, he should be thankful that he did not cause trouble.

The guy fled so hard that his horse died. He then pulled Jiala Zhangjing, who was under Dorgon's command, off the horse, stole the horse and ran very fast. He was the first to reach the border wall, and went into the pier to ask someone to make him rubbed cakes to eat.

The heavy responsibility of leading the defeated and remnant troops back fell on Dorgon's shoulders. He was trembling with fear and panic, and he also had to clean up the mess made by Dodo.

Dorgon felt aggrieved, he was only one and a half years older than Doduo!

During the past few days since he returned as the leader of the army, he missed his brothers whom he hated so much.

For example, he missed his eldest brother Ajige, who had a weird brain but was a great fighter, Daishan, who was of the same generation but could almost be his grandfather, and even Amin, who was even weirder than his eldest brother and more like an elder brother.

If these three were here, at least he would feel more relaxed.

What Dorgon was most afraid of hearing at this time was Huang Taiji asking him about casualties.

"Holy Khan, let's go back to Shengjing first."

But the Emperor Chongde became anxious upon hearing this, and glared at him and asked sternly, "Could it be that you were so busy running away that you didn't record any casualties?"

Dorgon didn't say anything, but just looked at Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji understood that the casualties had been counted.

But Dorgon didn't want to say it.

"Go ahead."

Emperor Chongde sighed heavily: "I know what's going on."

"Huaishun Prince Geng Zhongming was stabbed by a spear in the battle, his intestines spilled out on the ground, and he stuffed them into his stomach and fled with the army for three days. He died yesterday; Gongshun Prince Kong Youde was separated from his troops during the retreat and his whereabouts are unknown; Zhenghongqi Duke Heshuo Tu'efu was commanding the front line, but was hit by a cannon and died in battle..."

"Ma Guangyuan, the Ezhen of Wuzhenchao Hagushan, was hit by a cannon in the battle line, his forehead was shattered, and he died the day before yesterday; Yileshen, the lieutenant general of the Zhenglan Banner, was hit by a cannon and died in the battle line; the Bordered White Banner..."

Dorgon was talking about them one by one at first, but then he showed reluctance and shook his head, saying, "More than 40,000 soldiers were killed, missing, or injured. Now we have gathered the remaining soldiers, there are still more than 38,000 of them, more than 20,000 of them are able to fight, and there are also slightly injured..."

Huang Taiji waved his hands weakly.

Can't listen to it anymore.

He felt that with the death of the old Khan, the destiny of the Later Jin Dynasty was also taken away.

"White Flag, how many people are left in your White Flag?"

Dorgon could not help but be surprised. At this time, Emperor Chongde did not even ask how many people were left in his Bordered Yellow Banner.

He replied: "Your Majesty, the Plain White Banner suffered little loss, with more than 900 armored soldiers still in the battle, totaling 3,420 soldiers; the Bordered White Banner suffered heavy losses, with only 2,120 soldiers left in the battle."

Contrary to his expectations, upon hearing the bad news, Huang Taiji not only did not get angry, but instead showed relief on his face: "Good! Good! Good!"

"As long as your white flag is not seriously damaged, my heart will be at peace!"

Because the loss of the Bordered Yellow Banner was less than a thousand cavalry, although many of them were armored soldiers, but Daiqing was not short of iron, and armor could be produced quickly and in large quantities.

Huang Taiji was confident about his direct subordinates, but what made him unsure were Dorgon's men.

As long as Dorgon did not suffer too much loss, the two of them would be the largest leaders of the Daiqing faction, and together they could subdue anyone.

At least there is no need to worry about civil unrest.

If the Zhengbai Banner is also severely damaged, I am afraid it will not be able to suppress the other banner leaders.

"Now, how many soldiers are there in the battle line? Eight banners, waiting to recover from their injuries and be able to fight."

As soon as Huang Taiji said this, Dorgon knew that he knew the number of troops in each banner, not counting the Han, Mongolian and Tianyou troops, but he couldn't add them up for a while, so he said: "There are still more than 23,000 under the Eight Banners."

At this moment, Emperor Chongde seemed to have lost all his energy, as if he had aged ten years, and he sighed deeply.

For this expedition, more than 38,000 soldiers were recruited, but now there are only 23,000 left, and many of them are injured and can no longer go into battle.

Even those fallen bannermen, not to mention their bodies, even their braids could not be brought back. Who knows how many relatives and in-laws were among them... Huang Taiji didn't even know how to return to Shengjing in a decent manner.

The taste of failure is too bitter to swallow.

"I……"

Huang Taiji shook his head and asked Dorgon sincerely, "Should I not insist on chasing him and fighting this battle?"

Dorgon sighed.

Emperor Chongde's words reminded him of what Duoduo had said to him in the tent the day before the attack.

Duoduo said that Liu Chengzong's route was like a ghost. Unless you wanted to be caught up, you couldn't catch up with him even if you walked faster than him. Besides, you couldn't get the money back even if you caught up. It would be better to go home and listen to the opera. Dorgon thought that Duoduo was right.

They were all overwhelmed by the anger of the looting of important towns and the burning of ancestral tombs. Even if they didn't want the money, they just wanted to catch up with Liu Chengzong and beat him up to avenge their previous humiliation.

Everyone claims to be extremely smart and brave, but in the end, they are not as clear-headed as that cynical child.

Duoduo was smart, but he had been doted on by the old Khan since he was young, so he acted as he pleased and acted wildly and absurdly, which led to... neither the emperor nor his brother Dorgon took Duoduo's words seriously.

In other words, even if this guy is seriously analyzing or talking about serious matters, he still talks in a confusing way, making it difficult for the listeners to take him seriously.

It's a big deal to send troops and release horses, why bother going home to watch opera!

But now that things have come to this, there is no need to argue about who is right or wrong.

The most important thing for Dorgon at the moment is Huang Taiji's self-doubt, which was obviously defeated by the disastrous defeat.

This made Dorgon's original intention to report the situation in Guanning stuck in his throat, so he could only step forward and say respectfully: "Saint Khan, please understand. I will raise the white flag and assist you wholeheartedly. We are still alive with our relatives and sufficient troops, so the country will not be in chaos. When the troops plundered from the Ming border are returned, the situation will be stable. Saint Khan does not need to worry about this."

Huang Taiji would not be worried at all.

Once the battle is lost, it is lost, and the lessons learned and the bitter feelings cannot be avoided.

But who is he?

He was an ruthless aristocrat who had fought for his place as heir by relying on his character and talent.

Since the Qin Emperor, it has been difficult for the founding emperors who established the country to have a complete crown prince. Either they died young or they died in a fight at Xuanwu Gate. There were even cases like Yongle who died young and then had a fight. In that case, whoever won was the true emperor.

Only by standing out among blood brothers can one inherit the great cause.

Huang Taiji was just testing.

See if this younger brother who is most like him can still obey him in times of crisis.

But this move was really unnecessary. For Dorgon, if his brothers didn't listen to Huang Taiji, who else could they listen to?

As for the talent of competing for merits on horseback, the brothers had more or less developed it. Even Duoduo, who was evaluated by Emperor Chongde as "although he had not made any great contributions to the country, he was granted the title of Heshuo Prince as the youngest son of his father Emperor Taizu", was relatively calm in his sense of battle.

But when it comes to supporting the country, who else except Huang Taiji looks like a worthy leader?

But Huang Taiji had to try, because after this battle, his prestige was humiliated, and the worst result was that he might have to abdicate.

It was not the defeat that forced him to abdicate, but given the current state of the country, it is foreseeable that after he returns, his orders to the various banners will not be as easy as before.

Unfortunately, too many people died in this battle, and all the banners had to make adjustments when they returned. Even Huang Taiji, who was the most cruel to his clan members, could no longer use killing, the most effective means of deterrence.

In order to satisfy the nobles, if the pressure is too great, he has to retreat on his own. This is the way to advance, and he must not be forced to retreat.

So he planned to restore the Eight Kings' Council and put himself back in his comfort zone.

His advantage lies not in his prestige or military achievements, but in his use of political means to rationally mobilize the nobles.

Only in this way can he advance the three things he is going to do next.

The first step is to go back to Shengjing and fool my dad first.

Go to the ancestral temple to report the victory and let the old Khan know that Liu Chengzong, who broke into the capital and committed all kinds of evil and was very loyal to the emperor, fled out of the border in a hurry and was driven away by me.

It is ridiculous to celebrate a funeral, but sometimes it is necessary. At least it can calm people's hearts and let people see a worse possibility - if you lose the battle outside the border, what if the battle is fought inside the border? Wouldn't Liu Chengzong rob all of your manors?

Although the loss is huge, just tell me whether Chengzong left or not!

The second was to wipe out the Han and Mongolian armies and fill them all into the Eight Banners of Manchuria.

This was a stopgap measure. The Manchu population was declining and no one cared about the distinction between masters and servants.

Liu Chengzong was too good at fighting, so he had to improve the status of the Han and Mongolian people. Otherwise, the next time they went to war, they would face each other on the battlefield and it would be troublesome if all the Han and Mongolian people turned against him.

But this cannot solve the fundamental problem, because Daiqing is a slave plantation state of feudal aristocracy. If the status of slaves is raised, then who will do the work?

North Korea.

The third step was to intensify the population abduction of the Jurchens in Northeast China and attack North Korea.

This year, after completing the second task, we must immediately put attacking North Korea on the agenda, forcing it to change from fraternal to filial piety, and at least seize enough food to last until next year, and also snatch hundreds of thousands of people from North Korea.

This is more difficult than the previous two steps.

The difficulty lies in the huge population size.

But we have to rob.

In fact, Emperor Chongde was more pessimistic about the country's future situation than Dorgon.

Dorgon still hoped that Ajige would bring back the 20,000 troops to stabilize the situation, but in Huang Taiji's view... Ajige would be lucky if he could bring back 10,000 troops.

Liu Chengzong is still stationed outside the border, blocking Ajige's way out of the border. Ajige can't break through Shanhaiguan and come back, right?
The Guanning Army… Emperor Chongde suddenly thought of the Guanning Army and couldn't help but ask Dorgon, "Are there any unusual movements in Zu Dashou's Jinzhou Army?"

Dorgon thought it was bad, the emperor still asked about Zu Dashou.

Zu Dashou's movements are more than just unusual.

"Reporting to the Holy Khan, Zu Dashou... When our army was chasing Liu Chengzong out of the border, Zu Dashou crossed the river and marched eastward. Dan Dali, the White Banner officer stationed in Lanpan, Ning Guta, who was guarding Gaizhou, Zhang Xiba, who was guarding Xiuyan, and Fu Dai, who was guarding Niuzhuang, all died."

Emperor Chongde's mood had just improved by half a point when it suddenly sank to the bottom again.

These were the leaders of the armored forces sent by Niulu to capture the escaped people. Normally, they could escape when they encountered a powerful enemy, but now they were all killed. It was obvious that the Jinzhou army came well prepared and advanced very quickly, surrounding them and making it impossible for them to escape.

He asked anxiously, "What about Haizhou? Where are Shang Kexi, Zhang Cunren, and Cao Guangbi stationed in Haizhou?"

Dorgon looked unhappy, and was very worried about Huang Taiji's mood. He said, "Zu Dashou's troops are coming in force and attacking Liaoyang. The generals of Haizhou are unable to stop them and have to retreat eastward by boat. However, they were bombarded by the Jinzhou army at the Xingjing River section."

"Fortunately, the Jinzhou Army's artillery was not good. A general and a red-haired cannon exploded one after another. Shang Kexi and others were able to lead the army to break through, and Haizhou was captured by the Jinzhou Army."

"Right now, Prince Zheng Jierhalang has joined forces with Prince Zhishun and others to drive out the enemy occupying Xingjing, and is putting out the fire in the ancestral mausoleum."

Huang Taiji was originally just anxious, but when he heard the good news that Jierhalang drove away the enemies occupying Xingjing, his expression turned cold.

He had just wanted to celebrate the funeral and report the victory to the ancestral temple to fool his father's spirit in heaven, but Jirgalang started to fool the living.

The city of Liaoyang had been looted and burned by Liu Chengzong long ago. When he went out of the border, the fire of Liaoyang City could be seen from Hupiyi, illuminating half the sky. How did Zu Dashou get into the city?

Isn't this just bullshit?
It was clearly Zu Dashou who arrived in Liaoyang, found out that the city was not worth keeping, and left on his own.

In particular, Huang Taiji found that he had also expelled Liu Chengzong, and seemed to have no right to blame Jierhalang, which made him even more depressed.

After a long time, Emperor Chongde took a deep breath and sighed.

"Haizhou was captured by the Jinzhou army. There will be trouble in the future... Zu Dashou, Zu Dashou, I really want to see you again, you Chengzong!" (End of this chapter)