1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 697 Tide ([-])

January 1654, 1, Shandong, Jinan.

Jiang Yongrui, the former Marquis of Yongning of the Ming Dynasty and the commander-in-chief of Denglai Town, slowly raised his head, looked at Oboi who was in charge of the case with a complicated expression, and then looked around at the Eight Banners generals with contemptuous expressions on both sides, stretched out his hands, Received the decree from the envoy who read the decree, and then kowtowed again.Behind his bald head, there is a slender money rattail.

"Okay, now that you have been granted the title of third-class official of the Qing Dynasty and belonged to the Eight Banners of the Han Army and the White Banner, you will be truly your own from now on. In addition, the Ministry of War appointed you to be the commander-in-chief of the Qing Town to ensure the safety along the eastern section of the canal. In a few days, take the seven hundred officers and soldiers of your department to take office." Obai said loudly: "In the future, you must fulfill your duties and guard the place for our Qing Dynasty to ensure the safety of the party."

"Yes, General." Jiang Yongrui clapped his hands in promise.

"Grandpa Jiang, whether you are in the army or in the court in the future, you need to practice my Qing etiquette and understand my Qing rules." said.

In the year of Jiashen (1644), when Duoduo troops went to Henan, Dong Xueli led his troops to surrender, and followed our Qing Dynasty to fight in all directions, conquering cities and looting land, making countless military exploits, and was only awarded the title of first-class son by the imperial court.This Jiang Yongrui was named a third-class prince just after opening the city gate when my Qing soldiers surrounded Penglai City. He couldn't help but be jealous of him.

When Jiang Yongrui heard this, he panicked immediately.Just now, when saluting Oboi, he subconsciously followed the usual method of the Yongchu court, only bowing his hands and saluting, instead of bowing down in the Qing court or saluting a thousand in the army.

"It doesn't matter, our Lord Jiang dedicated the city of Penglai, and finally made my Qing Dynasty destroy the hypocrisy of Yongchu in one fell swoop, and it's a great contribution!" Oboi said in a good mood, nonchalantly.

A few months ago, Oboi led the troops to quickly rush to Penglai City, and isolated the main force of the Yongchu court to the west of Laizhou. He thought that he could conquer Penglai City in one battle like before.

Unexpectedly, the defense of Penglai City was extremely tight and strong, and several subsidiary fortresses formed all-round crossfire with the main city, firmly suppressing the Qing army's siege operations.What makes people even more desperate is that the top of Penglai City is densely covered with artillery, and the counterattack firepower is also very fierce.The Qing army attacked continuously for two days without even touching the city wall, but instead lost more than [-] soldiers.

Oboi was at a loss for what to do about it, no wonder our Qing Dynasty attacked Penglai City several times, but they all failed and lost troops and generals.With such a fortified city, I am afraid that it will not be possible to conquer it quickly in the short term. In the end, we can only choose a long-term siege.

Just when Oboi was anxious about not being able to recover Denglai as soon as possible, the Ming army in Penglai City suddenly sent a secret envoy, claiming that Jiang Yongrui, Marquis of Yongning in the Yongchu court of the Ming Dynasty, would sacrifice Penglai City.

Aobai was astonished when he heard about it.It should be known that I have dealt with the Denglai Yongchu court for ten years in the Qing Dynasty, and I have a detailed understanding of their officials and generals.This Jiang Yongrui was the confidant of the puppet emperor of Yongchu, and the most important leader of the puppet Ming court. He was granted the title of Marquis of Yongning, General of Dragon and Tiger, and the commander-in-chief of Denglai Town. He can be said to be the No. 1 general of the Ming army.

With such a prominent status, why did he sacrifice the city and surrender?
The generals of the Qing army agreed that Jiang Yongrui's move was mostly an attempt to lure our Qing soldiers into the trap set by the opponent, and then severely injure them.

But Ao Bai resisted all opinions and was ready to accept Jiang Yongrui's request to surrender.Anyway, in a hurry, there is no way to break through the city, Mo Ruo will give it a try.If the other party really surrendered, wouldn't that make me innocent and pick up a bargain.Even if it is a false surrender, it is nothing more than the loss of thousands of Han troops.

On November 11, Obai ordered more than 29 people from the Han army to successfully occupy the north gate of Penglai on the same night as agreed with Jiang Yongrui, and then took control of the two gates of the inner city.When several huge pillars of fire illuminated half of the night sky in the night, countless Qing troops rushed into Penglai City, seized the city gates, and controlled the military camps, government treasury, and government offices in the city... Penglai is Jike.

When the Qing army attacked the palace of Emperor Yongchu, Yongchu and more than a dozen ministers set fire to the palace, showing the chastity of the Ming court and the dignity of the emperor in a very fierce way.This made it a little regrettable that the Qing army failed to capture the puppet emperors and ministers alive, and could not do their best.

Five days after Zongbing slaughtered the city, Obai summoned Jiang Yongrui, who surrendered the city, and curiously asked him why he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Jiang Yongrui was silent at first, and finally let out a long sigh, expressing embarrassingly why he wanted to betray the Ming Dynasty and surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Two years ago, Emperor Yongchu suddenly announced that he would carry out reforms in order to enrich the country and strengthen the army, gather strength, and restore the Great Ming Dynasty.

Among the several matters of the reform, the rest are ignored, but the agricultural law and military law among them deeply stimulated the army generals headed by Jiang Yongrui.

According to the Agricultural Law, the imperial court will cancel the military settlements that have been implemented for several years in the Denglai controlled area, and prepare to start the equalization of land rights and distribute the land to farmers and soldiers who have no land or little land.However, this move was being implemented, because the imperial court was short of money and could not redeem the fields occupied by the military leaders and their relatives due to the war.Therefore, the imperial court took back all the land that could not get the title deeds before the Jiashen year without compensation.

The military law stipulates that the lieutenant will verify the military status and number of soldiers, and it is forbidden to eat empty salaries and drink soldiers' blood.Following the military administration of Qi State, the mobilization of military service and military operations belong to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Military Affairs, and prefectures, counties, towns and towns have comprehensively established a township reserve system.The Ministry of War established a staff collegiate system. The former Bingbeidao and Jinyiwei separated some personnel to form the Gendarmerie Department to replace the previous mode of supervising the army in which civilian officials and eunuchs were in the army.

These two reform regulations immediately aroused the uneasiness and anger of the army generals.Taking back the fields is tantamount to taking money from people.Checking and verifying the military status and number of soldiers is to cut off the daily expenses of the military leaders.There is also the so-called Gendarmerie Department directly under the emperor, like the Dongchang in the army, which implants the emperor's eyeliner in the grassroots of the army, no matter how big or small, the emperor can clearly see it.

As the largest military leader of the Yongchu court—Jiang Yongrui, since the emperor ascended the throne, he has single-handedly led the court's army, and fought bloody battles in Penglai several times, ensuring that Emperor Yongchu can firmly occupy Denglai even in the most difficult times. , Raise the banner of Daming high.For Emperor Yongchu, he can be said to be the pioneer of entrepreneurship and the minister of the humerus.

But in recent years, the monarch and his ministers have become a little subtle.Emperor Yongchu not only began to woo Li Benshen vigorously, but also ordered his confidant eunuch Zhang Cheng to establish new territories in Tamna (now Jeju Island, South Korea), Yunzhou (now Hokkaido, Japan), Zhenzhou (now Vladivostok, Russia) and other overseas territories. Army, also invited Qi State to send instructors to train and drill.

This may be the emperor's strategy of differentiation, and more likely it is the emperor's multi-party check and balance method.But Jiang Yongrui still felt a little lost and... angry.He was loyal to the king's affairs and determined to be the pillar of the Ming Dynasty, but he was so jealous of Emperor Yongchu.

In addition, Huang Daozhou, the former chief assistant, died of illness two years ago, and Wu Zhenyu became a bachelor of the Dongge University and the chief assistant of the cabinet.It may be that there is some disagreement with Jiang Yongrui. Wu Zhenyu has repeatedly disputed with Jiang Yongrui in many political and military aspects.

Jiang Yongrui would sometimes take advantage of his support and follow the dragon's minister to harden the chief assistant, trying to suppress the opponent in terms of momentum.

But not long after, many censors wrote letters to impeach Jiang Yongrui, attacking him for being greedy and domineering.What surprised and frightened him was that Emperor Yongchu actually used this as an excuse to order him to relinquish his duties and do self-reflection at home.

Before the launch of the Jiangnan Campaign, Emperor Yongchu resumed all his duties and duties, and ordered him to start preparing to recover Denglai and Shandong and other lost prefectures and counties when the Qing soldiers dispatched troops to assist Jiangnan.

But when the imperial court was ready to send troops to attack Shandong, Emperor Yongchu left him in Penglai City, appointed Laizhou General Yan Yuanqing as the commander-in-chief, and led the main force of the imperial army to attack Shandong to the west. The soldiers and horses were handed over to the Western Expeditionary Army.

While Jiang Yongrui was deeply disappointed, he was also full of anger and resentment.If he was impeached and dismissed from his post to reflect at home because of the dispute with the first assistant, it was a beating and warning from Emperor Yongchu.Well, not letting him lead the army now, and handing over his soldiers and horses to others, is to suppress him ruthlessly.He knew that Wu Zhenyu, the chief minister of the cabinet, must have been the hindrance.Unexpectedly, Emperor Yongchu didn't miss the old love, willingly accepted the knife handed by the civil servant, and stabbed him without hesitation.

When the Western Expeditionary Army marched all the way to Shandong, many prefectures and counties such as Laizhou, Qingzhou, Pingdu Prefecture, and Linzi were successively recovered by the imperial court. Coupled with the frequent news of success in various places in the south of the Yangtze River, Denglai was immediately filled with positive and optimistic emotions.Jiang Yongrui responded coldly to this, and even maliciously hoped that the imperial army would be defeated.

At the beginning of November, the situation in Shandong changed suddenly. The Qing army gathered a large army and sneaked from Xuzhou to Yizhou.

However, Penglai City had thick walls and tight defenses. The Qing army stormed for two days with tens of thousands of horses, but failed to shake the city defenses at all, and suffered heavy losses under the bombardment of the city.

Although the Yongchu court faced the siege of the Qing army, although they were in a hurry, they were not worried about the safety of the city.They have enough confidence in defending Penglai City.As long as they stick to it for a month or two, in this cold weather, coupled with the poor logistics and supplies of the Qing army outside the city, they will naturally withdraw their troops and return as usual.In addition, after the overseas territories and the state of Qi learn of the news, they will definitely send troops to rescue the siege.The only thing I was worried about was probably the safety of the more than [-] Western Expeditionary Army.

The offensive and defensive battle of Penglai lasted for more than ten days, but Jiang Yongrui was not reused by the court to preside over the defense affairs of the defenders in the city. Instead, Wu Zhenyu, the chief assistant of the cabinet, led hundreds of forbidden troops to command and supervise the defenders at the top of the city.

Jiang Yongrui knew that Emperor Yongchu wanted Wu Zhenyu to establish a prestige in the army by relying on the battle of Penglai to defend the city, paving the way for future military restructuring.

This time, being beaten by the Qing captives again seems to have strengthened Yongchu's determination to reform the military and political system.Several important military towns in Denglai, with thousands of soldiers and horses, none of them put up a desperate resistance during the rapid advance of the Qing soldiers to slow down the speed of the Qing army's attack. It's like entering the land of no one.

Jiang Yongrui, who felt that he was about to be abandoned by Yongchu, made a crazy decision when he was extremely disappointed and surrendered to the Qing army.

After Aobai and other generals of the Qing army heard the reason, they all exclaimed that they were lucky, and at the same time they were full of contempt and spurn for Jiang Yongrui.However, the coach Obai still truthfully reported his voluntary surrender and dedication to the Qing court to the Qing court, and finally won the award and reuse of Emperor Shunzhi.

After Jiang Yongrui was granted the title, he led more than [-] officers and soldiers to Linqing to take office.Although the Yangtze River was cut off by the allied forces of the Ming and Qi Dynasties and the water transportation was cut off, Linqing was one of the rare bustling places along the canal, and he was not wronged when he was appointed as the general soldier of Linqing by the Qing court.

When he arrived in Dong'e, Jiang Yongrui received the news that the city of Nanjing was broken, the governor of Liangjiang, Ma Guozhu, and the governor of Jiangnan, Guan Zhongzhong, committed suicide and died for the country. More than a hundred civil and military officials under Jiangning governor Zhou Guozuo and Jiangning general Wang Jing were captured. Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Zheng Zhilong and other Ming The military ministries then quickly swept across the entire south of the Yangtze River.

"Won't the Qing Dynasty be reversed by the Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Yongrui stood on the edge of the canal, looking towards the south, with a bit of anxiety and melancholy on his face.

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January 1, North Korea, Seoul.

Shen Liu, the military envoy of North Korea, looked at the devastated city, and couldn't help feeling sad.The entire city of Seoul was obviously looted and burned by the Hulu troops who had withdrawn and returned to the north. There were ruins everywhere, and countless corpses of officers, soldiers and civilians lay in various parts of the city.Even the majestic and magnificent Changdeok Palace (the former Korean royal palace, Gyeongbokgung Palace, was burned down during the Imjin Japanese Invasion) was set on fire by the Hulu army, and all the belongings were taken away.

The surviving officials and civilians in the city looked at the officers and soldiers of the Korean imperial camp entering the city indifferently, as if they were enemies.It's no wonder that the king and many ministers flocked out of the city before the Hulu army of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties reached Seoul, fleeing to Ganghwa Island or Namhan Mountain City, leaving the city full of people here.When the Hulu vanguards were stationed at Macheng with thousands of soldiers, Li Shifang, the general of the capital, surrendered without a fight and handed over the city of Seoul to the Hulu.

During the occupation of Seoul by the Hulu army of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, more than [-] defenders were beheaded and killed on the banks of the Han River, so that the entire river was stained red with blood.Immediately afterwards, the Hulu began to plunder the treasury, palaces and official residences in the city, wantonly insulting Korean women.The slightest disobedience or disrespectful attitude of the people in the city will be punished with swords and axes.

In more than a month, tens of thousands of people in Seoul died, government treasuries, rich merchants, and big households were looted, and materials such as gold, silver, cloth, and silk were piled up like mountains.When the Hulu army of the Manchu and Qing dynasties withdrew from Seoul more than ten days ago, another brutal massacre was carried out. Those Korean soldiers and civilians who were lucky enough to escape from the city when the Hulu occupied Seoul were almost slaughtered. Up to more than [-].

The Qing army escorted hundreds of carts, stretching for more than ten miles. When they slowly retreated from Seoul to the north, the nearby King Qin's army did not dare to stop them, and watched the Hulu army retreat.

After hearing the news that the Manchu Hulu army had withdrawn, the Korean monarchs and ministers in Hannan Mountain City still did not dare to go out of the city to take a look. They were worried that the Hulu would use a trick to lure the enemy, and then they would kill a carbine and break through Hannan Mountain City.After waiting for more than ten days, all the horses from all walks of life came to report and confirmed that the Hulu had gone far away. King Li Hao then sent the general army envoy Shen Liu to lead [-] troops and rushed to Seoul first.In addition to investigating the news of the retreat of the Hulu in the north, it is also necessary to inform the nearby King Qin that the soldiers and horses are gathered in one place, and they will come to Hannan Mountain City to pick them up and return to Seoul.

Shen Liu sighed, recruited several generals, and ordered them to lead troops to temporarily maintain order in the city, conscript civilians to clean up the damaged buildings in the city, and at the same time collect the bodies of many dead people.

Immediately, Shen Liu led the troops out of the north gate of Seoul, followed carefully along the way, looking for the direction where the Hulu army of the Manchu and Qing dynasties were retreating.As for what to do after catching up with the Hulu army, Shen Liu did not receive specific instructions from King Li Hao.However, he didn't think that the thousands of people under his command could pose a threat to the Hulu. He just monitored the Hulu all the way out of North Korea and confirmed that they crossed the Yalu River and returned to Liaodong.

After this battle in the Korean Kingdom, the soldiers and civilians suffered huge casualties. From Seoul to the north to the banks of the Yalu River, dozens of towns and key passes were breached by Hulu, burned and destroyed, and countless material losses were lost.I'm afraid he won't be able to recover his vitality for at least ten years.Previously, the discussions about the Northern Expedition, which had been heatedly discussed and turbulent in the public opinion, would probably die down, and this thought would be abandoned for the time being.

"The fate of the world lies with Hu, not with me!" Glancing at the officers and soldiers under his command, all of them showed expressions of fear and no morale. If the Hulu army turned around and attacked, these thousands of people might collapse immediately, Shen Liu Shaking his head and lamenting, he tightened the cloak on his body, loosened the rein held by his right hand, and the horse under his crotch slowed down very cleverly.
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On February 2, Anju.

Yue Le sat on the horse, looking expressionlessly at the other side of the Qingchuan River, where flags were flying, and about four to five thousand Ming troops were stationed behind the earth fortress by the river. Bounced continuously on the ice, and smashed into the approaching Qing army infantry, wading out several paths of blood.

On the bank of Jiangbei, hundreds of Ming troops kept swinging their hammers while the Qing troops were not approaching, smashing the slowly freezing river surface again, exposing large expanses of ice floes.

"Let Mao Wenzhong move faster and rush to the opposite bank as quickly as possible to prevent the Ming army from continuing to destroy the ice." Yue Le ordered loudly.

"Hey!" After hearing the order, a guard immediately urged his horse to gallop towards the front.

"Commander, do you want to dispatch cavalry to rush over from the flank?" Marcel looked a little impatient.

The Eight Banners of the Han Army had charged twice, and each time they had just rushed to the bank of Jiangbei, they were shot by the opponent's guns, causing many casualties and failing to go ashore.Moreover, the ice on the shore was constantly damaged by the Ming army, and it had become very fragile, and many soldiers fell into the river.Although the water on the shore is shallow enough to submerge a human body, when entering the water up to the waist, it is icy cold, and wearing armor, he immediately lost his ability to move and was shot to death by the Ming army on the shore.

"The ice is wet and slippery. The cavalry cannot run as fast as they can. They are no different from the infantry. Let the Han army charge a few more times." Yue Le shook his head and said.

"I don't know where the Ming army came from, but they dare to block my way back from the Eight Banners with just a few thousand people?" Gu Shan Ezhen Kakamu said with a frown.

"North Korea is not far from Denglei, and it must have come across the sea from there." Lai Da guessed.

"It may not be the Denglaiming Army." Yue Le had a strange look on his face.When passing through Shengjing, in addition to receiving a secret order from the imperial court, instructing him to attack North Korea, he also received a number of military reports in the pass, one of which was that Obai led an army of more than [-] in Xuzhou and invaded from the Jianghuai River. In the south of Shandong, they pierced through the peninsula and went straight to Denglai's heart, trying to destroy the Yongchu court in one fell swoop.With Oboi's swift and fierce combat style, the Battle of Denglai might have ended at this time, perhaps he had captured and killed the emperor and ministers of Yongchu, and completely eliminated this serious problem that hindered Beijing.

At this time, he deeply suspected that some of these Ming troops were dressed up by the soldiers of the Qi Fan, just to attract my Eight Banners to attack the opposite bank and set up positions to consume a large number of Eight Banners men.

However, he still needs to let the Han army charge a few more times to confirm the opponent's combat effectiveness.If it is true that the Qi Fan army is stationed here, with their fierce and sharp firearms, it will be difficult for our Qing army to take advantage of it here.In this way, we can only find another way to return north along the east direction.It's just a matter of spending more time.However, some bulky materials may have to be discarded here, which makes people feel distressed.

However, Yue Le was a little worried in his heart. In addition to setting up here to block their army's return to the north, the Ming army and Qi Fan's troops would gather some troops to build a blocking position by the Yalu River two hundred miles away, and send them back to the north. stopped in North Korea.If so, that would be a troublesome matter.When the Qing army retreated from Seoul, they looted a large amount of gold, silver and jewellery, precious jade and antiquities, as well as countless grains, fodder, cloth and other materials, filling hundreds of carts.For this reason, more than [-] civilian husbands and many mules and horses were recruited from all over North Korea, all the way north, and they were all ready to be transported back to Liaodong.

Once the enemy deploys heavy troops on the banks of the Yalu River, it is inevitable to go through a fierce fight.Yue Le was not worried at all about repelling the enemy army and opening a road back north.There are [-] troops under my command, among which there are nearly [-] elite Manchurian Eight Banners. Unless the enemy army has [-] troops, who can stop our Eight Banners from attacking with all their strength.The only worry is that the battle of fortifications will cause too many casualties for the Eight Banners.

You must know that in order to attack North Korea by surprise, the Green Battalion Han army in the pass was hardly mobilized to accompany it, and all the Eight Banners troops were dispatched.After attacking Tushetu Khan and Chechen Khan of the Khalkha tribe, this large army turned around and headed eastward, and invaded North Korea. It has been fighting continuously for eight months without resting.Although the morale of the army is still relatively high, whether it is physical strength or endurance, it has reached the critical point.

"Retreat!" Seeing that the Eight Banners troops of the Han Army left hundreds of corpses in Jiangbei again, and retreated to the south bank, Yue Le ordered: "Let's take a detour and cross the river upstream. I don't believe that the Ming army can send out more troops. Stop me from crossing the river!"

Chen Hui, the commander-in-chief of Lingao Town, stood on a high earth base, looking at the Qing army on the south bank, which was constantly gathering soldiers and horses, and then turned one by one, heading east. It was obvious that he was going to the upper reaches of the Qingchuan River, looking for another way to cross the river. aisle.Seeing this situation, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.Sure enough, the staff members of the Qi Army had guessed correctly that after the Qing army returned from a big victory in North Korea, they would not be willing to spend it here.When the casualties were less than a thousand, Ningyuan would spend more time and detours, and he didn't want to fight them to the death.

"Prepare to pack up, and we are also prepared to retreat to the seaside." Chen Hui turned his head and told several generals: "If there are no accidents, it will be a hard battle by the Yalu River. We must go to support as soon as possible."

"The Qi army is good at fighting. Even without our support, they will surely be able to block the Qing soldiers by the Yalu River." Zheng Jiao, the general of Anping Town, said pointedly.

When Chen Hui heard this, he fixedly looked at Zheng Sen's elder brother and understood what he meant.It is to deliberately delay the support of the Qi army, let them fight the Qing army to the death on the Yalu River first, and when both sides are exhausted and both losers, the Zheng army will appear on the battlefield again.This move can not only avoid greater casualties on one's own side, but also rely on the final strength advantage to distinguish the spoils of war after the army's attack.

"Zheng Jiao, do you know why my Ming Dynasty fell to this place, letting tens of thousands of slaves enter the pass, destroying my civilization, slaughtering my people, so that the barbarians are ashamed of the world?"

"...why?" Zheng Jiao asked subconsciously.

"Because, there are too many people like you in my Ming Dynasty." Chen Hui shook his head and said, "Scheming against each other and fighting against each other, good at internal friction but lazy at external humiliation."

"Chen Hui, you..." Zheng Jiao became angry with embarrassment, "The four thousand soldiers and horses belong to my Zheng family, and you are not allowed to waste them for nothing!"

"I am Uncle Xinghua appointed by the Ming Dynasty, Lingao General Soldier appointed by the imperial court, and the commander-in-chief of the Lu Division appointed by Jingwuhou (Zheng Sen). If you say anything nonsense, be careful, I will cut you into the army !" Chen Hui held the handle of the knife with his right hand and stared at Zheng Jiao fiercely.

"..." Zheng Jiao's face was pale, and under Chen Hui's gaze, he couldn't help taking a few steps back, Nuo Nuo didn't dare to speak anymore.

"The commander of the last commander!"

"The commander of the last commander!"

"..."

Several generals beside him looked at Zheng Jiao with contempt, and promised to Chen Hui, then turned around and restrained their troops, packed their bags, and prepared to retreat to the seaside.

"This Qing prisoner may not be as scary as in the legends. They would be afraid if they fought desperately with him." Chen Hui murmured, looking at the Qing army brigade that was leaving on the other side of the river.

(End of this chapter)