Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In the western warm pavilion of the Qianqing Palace in Beijing, the 49-year-old Empress Dowager Zhaosheng and the 24-year-old Emperor Shunzhi sat opposite each other. As the emperor grew up rapidly and became more and more majestic, the mother and son rarely had the opportunity to sit down and chat. Originally, in another time and space, in order to commemorate his beloved Dong Efei, the young emperor arranged for his trusted eunuch Wu Liangfu to become a monk. When he personally visited the Minzhong Temple to watch Wu Liangfu's ordination ceremony, he contracted smallpox and died. But in this time and space, with the emergence of the Wei Kingdom, the Qing Dynasty's foreign threats became increasingly serious. The emperor had no time to arrange for someone to become a monk for him. Wu Liangfu was in charge of the Thirteen Yamen to gather military intelligence for him, and he did not go to the Minzhong Temple, so he did not have smallpox and was still alive and well.

"Empress Dowager, look, this is a letter written to me by Biltahar. That slave actually surrendered to Wei and wrote a letter to persuade me to surrender on behalf of the pseudo-Khan. He deserves to be put to death!" Emperor Shunzhi angrily ordered someone to present a letter to his mother.

The Empress Dowager Zhaosheng, who had experienced countless bloody storms, was not as angry as her son. She calmly read the letter and said, "Your Majesty, don't blame Biltahar. After all, he is my nephew and your brother-in-law. We are closely connected. Moreover, he was a prince in the Qing Dynasty, but was only granted a third-class thousand-household head in the Wei Kingdom. How could he abandon his noble position for a humble one? In my opinion, his heart is still with us. I have to write this letter to save the lives of my family." Seeing that her son's expression had eased a little, the old mother sighed slightly again, "But from the content of the letter, your two uncles have died for their country, and the Wei army has occupied the entire territory of Korchin. The situation outside the Great Wall is developing in the worst direction and is likely to fall completely. The land of our ancestors will soon be lost!" When mentioning the deaths of two close relatives and the occupation of the entire territory of Korchin by the Wei army, even a figure like the Empress Dowager Zhaosheng could not help but look gloomy.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I have ordered Xue Xun, a guerrilla commander of the Dengzhou Navy Camp, and Qu Zhonghe, a guerrilla commander of the Rongcheng Navy Camp, to lead 42 warships from the four naval camps of Dengzhou, Rongcheng, Jiaozhou and Jinzhou, and 20 warships each drawn from the Hangzhou Navy and Zhenjiang Navy, totaling 82 warships, to protect more than 200 civilian ships collected from the coast of Zhili and Shandong, and to transport 13,000 cavalry and infantry from the Ministry of State Affairs Lai Tuku and the Governor of Huguang Dong Xueli to rush to Liaodong from the sea. The Wei country has never been accustomed to naval battles and has no navy in Liaodong. They will certainly not expect our army to come from the sea. Even if they know that our army will cross the sea to aid Liaodong, they cannot prevent it without a navy. This move will surely resolve the crisis in Liaodong," Emperor Shunzhi began to persuade his mother.

At this point in the war, even if he wanted to send troops from the sea to rescue Liaodong, Zhili and Shandong were unable to mobilize combat-capable troops. The elite troops in the coastal provinces had to guard against the harassment of the sea rebel (referring to Zheng Chenggong), so he had to mobilize 11,000 cavalry and infantry from the distant Huguang Department of Admiral Dong Xueli; without enough ships to transport troops, he collected more than 200 larger merchant ships and fishing boats in Shandong and Zhili; without enough warships for escort, he concentrated the four naval camps of Dengzhou, Rongcheng, Jiaozhou, and Jinzhou, and mobilized 20 warships from the Hangzhou Navy and Zhenjiang Navy. The most tired was Dong Xueli's department, which took three months to travel from Huguang to Dengzhou, Shandong, and was delayed for several months waiting for the navy, ships, and various military equipment and supplies to arrive in Dengzhou. In short, the emperor overcame numerous difficulties to cross the sea to rescue Liao, and now he has made all preparations.

"Your Majesty, do you know that the situation in Liaodong has completely collapsed? Even if we deploy 13,000 troops and thousands of naval forces from Lai Tuku and Dong Xueli, I am afraid it will not save Liaodong from the crisis. Instead, it may make them isolated and fall into serious danger?" Empress Dowager Zhaosheng was not optimistic about the plan to cross the sea to aid Liaodong and poured cold water on the emperor.

"Your Majesty, your son actually knows that the situation in Liaodong and even the entire area outside the Great Wall has collapsed, and sending a solitary army there may not necessarily play any role. But the latest news says that the Wei Army has already captured Shengjing and Khorchin grassland, and is attacking Xingjing Hetuala, where the tombs of our Manchu ancestors are located. If we allow the Wei Army to capture Hetuala, it will greatly damage the morale of the Eight Banners and make people think that the Qing Dynasty is too weak. So even though I know there is little hope of successfully crossing the sea to aid Liao, I still want to give it a try!" The young emperor raised his sword-like eyebrows, looking very heroic.

The Empress Dowager Zhaosheng looked dazed, as if she saw Emperor Taizong in the past. The situation was so critical, if Emperor Taizong was still alive, how would he deal with it? Maybe he would send troops across the sea to reinforce like his son just did, or he would personally lead the army out of Shanhaiguan to fight the enemy?

"Emperor~" Her son's call brought this outstanding female politician back to reality. Her face turned red. What happened to her? She always liked to reminisce about the past. From time to time, she would think of the late emperor, Prince Rui, and her parents and brothers. Was she old? After regaining her composure, she sorted out her thoughts, nodded gently and praised: "The emperor has really grown up and is thoughtful. I am very pleased! The vision of an emperor cannot be limited to the gains and losses of a moment, but should look at the whole world. You are right. Hetuala is the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty and the tombs of our ancestors are all there. How important it is! If the Renwei Army captures our ancestral land without sending troops to rescue, what will the officials think? What will the people think? The most important thing is how will the children of the Eight Banners view you as the emperor? It will inevitably cause people's hearts to be scattered. Once people's hearts are scattered, the Qing Dynasty will be in danger! Therefore, it is imperative to cross the sea to aid Liao. Even if you know that the troops sent may be wiped out, you have to send them. It's just that the Manchu population is small, so you can't send Manchu soldiers there."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Among the troops crossing the sea to aid Liao this time, the 11,000 men of Dong Xueli's army are all from the Green Camp, and the 2,000 cavalrymen of Laituku's army are drawn from the Han troops of the Bordered Red Banner and the Plain Red Banner. Except for the commander Laituku, who is a Manchu, the rest are all Han people," said Emperor Shunzhi with a smile, obviously proud of his ability to control the Han army.

"There is one more thing the Emperor must prepare for early. If all the land outside the Great Wall is lost, we must defend the area inside the Great Wall," the Empress Dowager Zhaosheng warned painfully. It was obvious that she was reluctant to leave the area outside the Great Wall, especially the endless grasslands outside the Great Wall!
"The Emperor is reminding you that I have ordered the Minister of State Council Fei Yasha, the General of Shanhaiguan Feng Duo, and the Deputy Generals of the Beijing Camp Yang Tingyu and Fu Jinzhong to defend Shanhaiguan. I have also ordered the expansion of the Green Camp in Zhili, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi. I believe that if we want to hold on to the interior of the Great Wall and then recapture what is outside the Great Wall, the key lies in making good use of the Han people. The Han population is far greater than that of Manchuria and Mongolia. If I can use them, the situation will be stable."

"It's great that the emperor can see this!" Empress Dowager Zhaosheng nodded repeatedly, and then murmured: "I hope that our ancestors will bless us~ and bless our army to successfully cross the sea to aid Liao!"

The young Emperor Shunzhi suddenly smiled, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already laid out a killing move. This time I will definitely teach the pseudo-Khan a lesson!" (End of this chapter)