Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

After finally retreating to the Lugou River, Doni counted the remaining soldiers and found that there were less than 50,000. He could not help but feel sad and beat his head and stamped his feet, "The elite troops of the Qing Dynasty were lost here! Your Majesty, I am sorry for you~ I am a sinner of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Your Highness, now is not the time to be sad. Please quickly withdraw across the Lugou Bridge and join forces with Prince Dulan before making any plans," Tong Yangliang comforted him.

"Pass on my military order. The entire army must cross the river immediately!" Donny gritted his teeth and gave the order, his expression suddenly changing drastically.

"Da~Da~Da~" With the deafening sound of horse hooves, the guards' cavalry came overwhelmingly. It was too late to cross the bridge.

"Line up~ Line up~" Doni ordered calmly, but his voice trembled involuntarily. He knew in his heart that after the great defeat, the army's morale was low and they could not stop the enemy's cavalry no matter what.

In the opposite Wei army formation, Great Khan Lianhua raised his whip proudly and said, "Form a battle line! It's time to annihilate the enemy!" The Wei cavalry moved upon hearing the order and formed an offensive formation.

War is always full of uncertainty. Someone who was full of confidence suddenly changed color. The thunderous sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded in the distance. At the critical moment, Dulan, the prince of Qing, arrived with 43,000 cavalrymen of the Eight Banners. After receiving the military order from Doni, he immediately abandoned Miaofeng Mountain overnight, quickly crossed the Lugou Bridge, and finally got rid of the harassment of the army led by the Crown Prince of Weiguo, and arrived at the battlefield at the critical moment. Seeing the arrival of their own reinforcements, the defeated Qing army regained their morale and gathered together to prepare for another battle.

"What a shame! What a shame!" Great Lotus Khan kept mumbling. He thought he could take advantage of the great victory to completely wipe out Doni's central army, but a spoiler came and he was just one step away. What a pity! Seeing that the enemy's central army and rear army had more than 90,000 troops after joining forces, he knew that it would be difficult to achieve his goal today. He, who never fought a battle without confidence, sneered and ordered to keep a distance of 30 miles from the enemy and monitor from a distance.

The well-trained David's cavalry roared away, as if they had never appeared. Sultan fell into deep thought. The number of enemies was too large. Although he had annihilated more than 60,000 Qing troops with 10,000 casualties in the two battles in the previous two days, creating a military miracle of defeating the enemy with fewer troops, the Qing army still had more troops than him, especially the more than 40,000 Eight Banners cavalry led by the pseudo-Beile Dulan, who were the real main force of the Qing army and should not be underestimated!

"Order the prince to lead his troops across the river and meet me immediately," the Lotus Khan ended his contemplation and gave a decisive order.

The Crown Prince Zhuo Ligetu led 35,000 cavalry guards to march to the east bank of the Lugou River. When they arrived at the Lugou Bridge, they saw the Qing army guarding the bridge, so they galloped a hundred miles and crossed the river from the shallow water downstream. The two guards joined forces, with a total of more than 77,000 soldiers. Although the number was still smaller than that of the Qing army, the cavalry was much larger, and more importantly, the morale was high after the great victory. However, the Great Khan Lianhua was cautious by nature and did not launch an attack immediately without full confidence. Doni knew that the morale was low, so he took advantage of the opportunity when the guards did not attack to camp near the Lugou Bridge and hold on.

It was late at night, and Doni, who was lying on the camp bed and couldn't sleep, simply put on his clothes and got up to patrol the camp. Suddenly, a guard came to report, "Your Majesty, Prince Dulan and Tong Duxian want to see you."

"Oh, please come in," Donnie thought, sitting upright, looking majestic. An old man and a young man came hand in hand. The old man was over sixty years old, with white hair and a pale face that exuded a sickly look. He was the governor of Xuanda, Tong Yangliang; the young man was actually over thirty years old, a descendant of the Aixinjueluo family, Beile Dulan. The old man and the young man actually controlled most of the Manchu and Han troops, and their every move represented the attitude of the military.

"Do you two have any ideas about the war situation?" Donnie asked gently, and ordered his guards to serve tea. The prince was a gentleman by nature, and he still prepared fragrant tea even when he was in the army.

Duran signaled Tong Yangliang with his eyes. Tong Yangliang coughed lightly and spoke slowly, "Your Highness, our army was badly defeated. More than half of our 200,000 soldiers were lost. It is difficult to stop the offensive of the Wei army now. Why don't we withdraw to Xuanfu to reorganize and fight again."

Donnie's expression changed drastically after hearing this. The so-called withdrawing to Xuanfu to reorganize the troops for another battle is equivalent to not rescuing the capital. Where does this put the emperor's safety? If the emperor blames me, I will have no more heads to chop off. I couldn't help but slam the table, "How dare you! The outer and inner cities of the capital have been breached, and the emperor is eagerly looking forward to our army leading the rescue. Withdrawing to Xuanfu is disloyalty! Tong Yangliang, do you want me to be a disloyal person?"

As if frightened by the king's might, Tong Yangliang hurriedly confessed, "I dare not." This "slave" sounded strange, seemingly panic-stricken, but it shocked Prince Xin. According to Qing Dynasty etiquette, Manchu officials did not call themselves "slave" when meeting the prince, and only used the title "slave" when facing the emperor. Tong Yangliang's rash "slave" was like roasting me on the fire! Donnie was silent, as if he did not hear those two words clearly.

There is a way! Beile Dulan, who was watching from the sidelines, was overjoyed. As the great-grandson of Taizu Nurhaci, the grandson of Prince Lilie Daishan, and the third son of Prince Yingyi Sahalin, he had been exposed to all kinds of blood and rain since childhood and had rich political experience. When Huang Taiji passed away, his uncle Shuotuo and his elder brother Adali conspired to establish Prince Rui Dorgon and were exiled and executed. He was also implicated and deposed from the royal family. It was not until the sixth year of Shunzhi (1649) that he was granted the title of Beile. After Emperor Shunzhi took power, he was appointed as a councilor and granted the position of Right Zongzheng. Looking at the favor, he knew that the emperor had a deep resentment towards Dorgon. Although he was not Dorgon's confidant, his uncle Shuotuo and elder brother Adali had planned to establish Dorgon, and his title was also restored by Dorgon. He could not guarantee that he would be classified as a member of Dorgon's party and liquidated one day. Because he always felt that there was a knife hanging over his head, this Beile fought very bravely and hoped to redeem himself with military merits. Now that he saw that Doni was defeated, his mind changed subtly again, and he said solemnly: "My uncle's loyalty is known to my nephew and the soldiers of the Eight Banners. But now the army has lost its morale, and it will be defeated if it does not retreat. The soldiers have done their best, please ask the prince to keep this army for the Qing Dynasty. There is a Qing Dynasty only with an army! If the emperor blames me in the future, my nephew is willing to share the responsibility with my uncle."

This sounds simple, but it is meaningful when you think about it carefully. First, he affirmed Donny's loyalty, then analyzed the dangerous situation and explained the necessity of retreat, and then expressed his willingness to share the responsibility with him. The most important thing is these seven words: "There is no Qing Dynasty without an army."

What does "there is a Qing dynasty only if there is an army" mean? Isn't there a Qing dynasty only if there is an emperor? Donnie's expression became more solemn after hearing this. This nephew is older than himself, and he is definitely not a rash person. What he said today is very clear: the army supports him. If the guards really conquer the capital, with the support of the army, the Qing dynasty will not perish. At most, another emperor will be established. Who will be the master of the rise and fall at that time? He is a prince of the Qing dynasty and the grandson of Taizu!
Power has always been fascinating, but Doni is not a fool. He looked at the two of them and asked seriously, "Do Yilder, Aljin, Bashan Ezhen and the other generals know what you two said?" Yilder, Aljin and Bashan are all Gushan Ezhen of Manchuria, who have always been loyal to Emperor Shunzhi.

Duran's voice became excited. "I came to see Your Majesty after discussing with Tong Duxian, and I haven't explained it to the Ezhen and the general yet. Your Majesty, rest assured, if anyone dares to disobey, I will chop off his head!"

Silence, a deathly silence, for a long time, Doni finally spoke: "You two have missed one thing, the families of the Eight Banners soldiers are all in the capital, if we go to Xuanfu without fighting, the army will be demoralized. It is better to fight another battle, if we cannot win, and return to Xuanfu, no one will oppose us." (End of this chapter)