The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 450 Huang Taiji

The fifth day of the first lunar month in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen.

The Qing army entered the Ming Dynasty border from Huangyakou, defeated Ming general Bai Tengjiao and others in Jizhou, and successively captured Hejian and Jingzhou.

He approached Yanzhou and captured and killed Zhu Yipai, the King of Lu of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the kings of Leling, Yangxin, Dongyuan, Anqiu, and Ziyang.

Jinan, Shandong Province.

Jinan, this once prosperous city, has now turned into a sea of ​​fire, with the eaves and brackets crackling with crisp sounds as the flames licked them.

This ancient city, which should have been destroyed in the Wuyin Rebellion in history, temporarily escaped the disaster due to the change in the timeline.

But it could not escape its predetermined fate and was ultimately destroyed by war.

Blood seeped from the cracks in the bluestone slabs and solidified into dark red ice.

The magnificent and tall German Palace slowly collapsed under the burning flames.

The Qing army's cavalry trampled the vermilion lacquered gate of the government office, and their sabers reflected the firelight as they roamed the streets like a group of jackals tearing through the defenses.

The messy horse hooves crushed the thin ice on the bluestone slabs. On the river in the city, there were layers of corpses floating. The originally clear river water was dyed into an eerie rouge color.

A Qing soldier stood on the shore, rummaging around casually with the tiger spear in his hand, as if he was salvaging something valuable.

On the other side of the river, several horsemen were chasing the fleeing civilians with grim smiles on their faces. They swung their sabers, heads flew up, and the headless bodies ran a few steps before falling down.

Several Qing soldiers dragged a young woman into a courtyard house. Her clothes were tattered, obviously torn by someone, and the cry coming out of her throat was quickly cut off by the handle of a knife.

A man howled as he rushed out from a corner of the street, only to be kicked to the ground.

He struggled to stand up, but a spear had already fallen and nailed him into the cold snow, and a wail of pain followed.

A woman's hoarse wail was heard from the depths of the street, and was soon drowned out by the waves of wild laughter that came one after another.

Not far away, from a house with its door wide open, the intermittent crying of a baby was heard, but it was soon drowned out by the howling north wind.

On the top of the north city tower of Jinan, Huang Taiji leaned back in a chair and overlooked the chaotic city of Jinan.

His body no longer allowed him to stand, and this time when he went south, he even had to travel in a carriage most of the time.

The killing and riots in the city did not cause Huang Taiji much emotional fluctuation. Such things were already commonplace to him.

However, the smell of blood in the air still made Huang Taiji feel a little uncomfortable.

It had been a long, long time since he had smelled such a strong smell of blood at such a close distance.

It was fine in the past few years, but in the past two years, his health has been deteriorating day by day.

Especially after the Battle of Songjin, his physical condition became even worse. He often felt dizzy and nauseous, and even had palpitations from time to time. Many times, even a good night's sleep was a luxury.

This time when they marched south to attack the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji originally wanted Abatai to lead the troops.

But the current situation does not allow for this. They suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Songjin and must make up for it in this invasion.

Huang Taiji lowered his head and gently pressed his painful temples with his hands.

"In early November, Li Zicheng married the princess of the Khoshut Khanate in Xi'an. The two got married, and the Khoshut Khanate gave 10,000 cattle and sheep and 3,000 cavalry as dowry."

Abatai, who was standing aside, bowed slightly and explained the situation of Li Zicheng's troops one by one.

"Now Li Zicheng has gathered the six Ming garrisons of Gansu, Guyuan, Ningxia, Yansui, Shanxi, and Datong, and has recruited and trained soldiers in various places. Now he has a total of more than 280,000 soldiers and horses under his command."

"Among them, there are 20,000 Qiang cavalry, 15,000 Mongolian cavalry, 10,000 Hui cavalry, and 20,000 Han cavalry from our own army, for a total of 65,000 elite cavalry."

Huang Taiji frowned slightly, his mind in a state of confusion.

"Sixty-five thousand cavalrymen... two hundred and eighty thousand men..."

Huang Taiji murmured to himself, feeling increasingly depressed.

In the third year of Tianming, the first Khan launched an attack on the Ming Dynasty out of seven major hatreds. He fought for many years, conquering the east and the west.

By the time he took over the throne, he had been waging wars and frequent border raids for twenty-four years.

During the twenty-four years, the Qing Dynasty continued to grow stronger under his leadership.

Over the past 24 years, they have won countless victories.

Over the past twenty-four years, they have become stronger and stronger.

But their country is too small, after all, it is too small.

The towering giant of the Ming court, no matter how weak it is, is still a giant they need to look up to.

In the Battle of Songjin, he mobilized troops from all over the country and barely gathered 110,000 combat soldiers. Even with the auxiliary troops, there were only 200,000 soldiers.

However, in just two years in the Han area, Li Zicheng had already gathered 280,000 soldiers and horses. Even if the auxiliary troops who were just to make up the numbers were excluded, there were at least half of them who were elite soldiers.

In just two years, Li Zicheng had already possessed such a powerful military force that there was a risk of it getting out of control.

"Li Zicheng did follow our previously agreed plan and sent troops to attack Henan, but they were just bluffing at Tongguan and made a few feint attacks before there was no news."

Abatai's expression was not good either. After Li Zicheng occupied Guanzhong, he marched eastward to attack the Ming Dynasty and attacked Shanxi and Datong.

The reason why they were able to advance so quickly and even force the surrender of Jiang Ge, the general of Datong Town, was largely due to their military strength.

That damn Jiang Ge did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but instead surrendered to Li Zicheng.

Didn't Li Zicheng later receive an imperial decree from the Qing Dynasty and the golden seal of the King Shun of the Qing Dynasty?

"The real battlefield was in western Sichuan of the Ming Dynasty. Li Zicheng sent his general Liu Zongmin to lead 50,000 troops south to support the Khoshut Khanate and the Qiang chieftains in attacking western Sichuan."

"The Ming army in western Sichuan was defeated. The latest news we received is that the Shun army has broken through Diexi and entered the territory of Chengdu Prefecture."

"According to the time, the Shun army should have reached the city of Chengdu by now."

Huang Taiji shook his head. He had expected such a situation and sneered.

"If Li Zicheng were honest, he would not be Li Zicheng."

Although Huang Taiji had never met Li Zicheng, he could be said to understand Li Zicheng.

The Qing Dynasty had many secret agents buried in the Ming court. The Ming court and other places were like a leaky fishing net to the Qing Dynasty.

Huang Taiji was naturally familiar with the deeds of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other leaders of the Ming court's rebel army.

How could a man like Li Zicheng be willing to be inferior to others? It is natural for him to have his own ideas in his heart.

"As long as Li Zicheng still appears to be submissive, we should not quarrel with him. Just turn a blind eye to what he does."

Li Zicheng is still useful, and they still need Li Zicheng as a restraining force.

"The Ming court is no longer worth mentioning..."

Huang Taiji's eyes were grim. He looked upward, past the city of Jinan which had turned into a purgatory, and looked further south towards the city of Jinan.

The sun is setting and night is about to fall.

"If the Qing Dynasty wants to rule the Central Plains, you should know who our biggest enemy is..."

"Your Majesty is saying..."

Abatai looked solemn, and a figure as big as a mountain suddenly appeared in his mind.

The stunning sight of the Wuyin Campaign remains unforgettable to this day.

With just one charge, the armored cavalry under his command were defeated by the cavalry that was as fierce as fire.

The Ming army officer who led the team was none other than Chen Wang!
After several battles in Zhending and Jinan, the three armies saw that the Hanzhong army's flags had all fled, and the generals saw Chen Wang as if they had seen a killing god.

In the battle of Qingshan Pass, the Hanzhong army was unstoppable and even broke through the city gates. Even Tan Tai, a member of the Plain Yellow Banner's Gushan Ezhen, was shot dead by Chen Wang. Nearly half of the Plain Yellow Banner's armored cavalry who entered the border to guard the border were killed, and the morale of the army was low.

At a distance of nearly seventy steps, in the strong wind, Chen Wang was able to shoot an arrow at Tan Tai's face amid the chaos of the army.

With such bravery, no wonder he was hailed as "the bravest of the three armies"!
Chen Wang has been promoted step by step along the way. He has killed dozens of generals, captured flags, climbed the first step, and broken dozens of formations. He has killed countless people and destroyed countless formations. "Chen Wang..."

Huang Taiji nodded slightly, and a solemn look appeared on his face.

He had never met Chen Wang, but Chen Wang's name was deeply engraved in his heart.

Chen Wang now occupies the Central Plains and controls the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. The troops of the four provinces of Henan, Shandong, Huguang and Nanzhili are held hostage by him, and he has nearly 300,000 armored soldiers under his command.

The elite soldiers and generals are like carps crossing the river, and the powerful army is like the rising sun in the east.

The Chinese tradition has been passed down for thousands of years.

There is corruption in politics, there is depletion of wealth, there is collapse of military power, there are disasters in the family and the country.

China also had its times of decline, with the Mongols in the recent past, the Liao and Jin dynasties in the past, and the Five Barbarians in the distant past.

However, no matter what, when the land of China is about to fall into eternal darkness, there will always be a light of hope that will appear on this land.

Destiny.

This illusory thing.

It seems to have always been caring for the land of China.

When darkness looms, there will always be a group of people who are ready to die on this ancient land.

They gathered together, leaned on each other, stood shoulder to shoulder, in the same boat, facing north, without fear of life or death.

There will always be someone who will step forward in times of crisis, turn the tide, and support a collapsing building...

It was so a hundred years ago, a thousand years ago, and tens of thousands of years ago.

Huang Taiji clenched his fists. For the first time, he hated himself for reading too many books.

If he did not know this country, if he did not know this land, his determination would never waver in the slightest.

But he understands, he knows, he is clear.

Therefore, his heart inevitably wavered.

Huang Taiji closed his eyes and recalled the scene he had seen at the Great Wall not long ago.

Among the soldiers guarding the Great Wall of Jizhou, there were no more than a dozen people in a fort, no more than a hundred people in a garrison, and no more than a thousand people in a city.

But facing their army that was coming like a tide.

They still lit beacons, beat drums, blew horns, and took up weapons.

On the way south, there are countless scenes like this wherever we go.

The sounds of war drums and trumpets all lingered in Huang Taiji's ears, making his head even more swollen.

Huang Taiji's originally firm heart was wavering.

Will they ever really succeed in taking over the Central Plains?

Even if they succeed in entering the Central Plains and occupying China, can they really remain the masters of China?
The once incomparably powerful Mongol Empire covered tens of thousands of miles, had millions of soldiers under its command, and had billions of fiefdoms, and it dominated the entire world.

However, in China, its rule lasted only ninety-eight years.

How many years can their rule last?
Thinking of this, Huang Taiji felt a surge of powerlessness in his heart.

Years of military service and battles had already made his heart firm, but the current situation made him begin to doubt.

Chen Wang rose like a comet.

Just like those heroes who appeared out of nowhere in history.

It seems as if it was born to bury the old era and create a new one.

"Chen Wang..."

Huang Taiji gripped the armrests of his chair tightly.

His knuckles turned slightly white, and the bone-chilling coolness of the sandalwood seeped up through his hands, but he turned a deaf ear to it all.

He has struggled for so many years, he has fought for so many years.

His hard work, his ambition.

Is it going to stop here?

Do not!
He is not willing!

How could he be willing!
Huang Taiji slowly opened his eyes.

Before my eyes, there were red flames and blood all over the city.

Huang Taiji's eyes gradually became firm.

He doesn't believe it.

Destiny!

He doesn't believe in destiny!
If there really is destiny.

Then he would take down this destiny with his own hands and destroy it!

He won't bow his head, he won't surrender!
The Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty he established, will be the real master of this world!
Huang Taiji slowly stood up and looked down at the city of Jinan which was wailing under the iron cavalry.

"Write back to Li Yan."

Huang Taiji spoke slowly, and his abnormal behavior attracted the attention of the Qing army officers standing on both sides.

"Tell him that I have granted all his requests."

Abatai raised his head, his pupils slowly dilated, and his hands began to tremble involuntarily.

All the Qing army officers and generals tightly grasped the swords at their waists, and all eyes were focused on Huang Taiji.

The blood color gradually reappeared on Huang Taiji's originally pale face.

Ambition gradually filled up again in Huang Taiji's originally wavering eyes.

Huang Taiji's heartbeat gradually became stronger, and his arms gradually became stronger.

All the Qing army officers and generals gritted their teeth, their eyes filled with excitement.

Their Khan had once become depressed because of the death of his favorite concubine.

Their emperor had gradually ignored state affairs due to his health.

Their once ambitious leader, who had led them to fight all battles and was invincible, has returned to this world again!
Nothing is more inspiring than this!

"This time..."

Huang Taiji tightly grasped the armrest in front of him, his tone extremely firm.

"We're not leaving..."

Huang Taiji spoke each word with certainty, and his words seemed to hit everyone's chest like a heavy hammer.

"We will stay here and never leave again..."

"forever……"

"forever."

"forever!"

"I'm never leaving!"