Xie Ming

The grasses along the Bai Er Pass are not overgrown; ten years of military service have darkened the Qin capital.

Looking westward from Qiyang, no news arrives; flowing eastward along the Long River, the sound of weeping can be heard.

Wild vines, full of affection, entwine the bones of the fallen; the setting sun, what meaning does it hold for the empty city?

Who can ask the heavens, why did they send Chi You to create five weapons?
He turned his attention northward to Shandong. At the same time that Xiao was in Jiujiang, his business was rapidly deteriorating and beyond saving.

As April drew to a close, Huang Degong, who had been holding the fortified city of Jinan, was besieged here for a month.

The Chuzhou troops in the city suffered heavy casualties, and the Tartar soldiers outside the four passes were fierce and relentlessly surrounded the city, showing no signs of giving up easily.

They attacked every day during lulls in the fighting, their artillery fire deafening.

Although Jinan's city walls were high and thick, they could not be conquered for a long time.

However, the time allotted for research and calculation is already running out, and we are nearing our limit.

In addition, Dodo marched south with an army of 200,000, a vast and powerful force.

Besides the military strategy of encircling Jinan, the combined forces did not remain completely hesitant and stagnant in this place.

As early as mid-month, Prince Yu, Dorgon, personally issued an order to dispatch troops and generals, dividing them into two routes, east and west, with the vanguard being sent first, followed by the others heading south.

Among them, the right wing army, led by Shi Tingzhu, consisted of more than 10,000 Manchu troops and 5,000 Han mixed troops, continuing to assist in the siege of Jinan West Pass.

Another force, led by Geng Zhongming, consisted of 5,000 iron cavalry, plus over 5,000 Han and mixed troops, and marched south along Feicheng to launch a surprise attack.

In a few days, they swept through the enemy lines, capturing Pingyin, Tai'an, and Ningyang in succession, and advancing the battle line more than two hundred miles south.

Moreover, after the vanguard cavalry occupied Ningyang, they were within arm's reach of Yanzhou, where Liu Liangzuo's tens of thousands of troops were stationed.

Originally, the enemy general Geng Zhongming was still worried when he saw the strength of the enemy's troops. He thought that he could occupy Ningyang City, temporarily reorganize his troops, and send news north. He would wait for the order of the commander-in-chief, Prince Yu, before taking any further steps, which would be more prudent.

Unexpectedly, Liu Liangzuo, that coward, was utterly useless.

He feared the enemy like a tiger. After scouting the enemy's occupation of Ningyang, he did not think of leading his troops to attack. It was one thing for him to be cowardly and unwilling to advance.

Unexpectedly, this fellow's cowardice has reached such a level. Seeing the fierce Tartar soldiers attacking, even reaching his doorstep, this fellow, despite having several times the number of enemy troops, suddenly became terrified at the mere mention of their name and fled in the face of battle.

He urgently ordered the entire army to voluntarily withdraw from the important town of Yanzhou, abandon the city, and flee south to Jining.

Such behavior is truly despicable!
When the enemy general Geng Zhongming received the news, he was taken aback and feared that it was a trap. He waited for a day, during which scouts searched the surrounding area before daring to enter the city and occupy Yanzhou.

Afterwards, not long after they had secured Yanzhou, they captured Sishui and Qufu in quick succession.

At this point, they had advanced three hundred li south of the western front, as if entering an uninhabited territory, which was utterly absurd.

On the eastern front, the left flank of the army consisted of 10,000 Manchu troops and 5,000 Han Chinese soldiers, who similarly besieged the eastern gate of Jinan.

Kong Youde also personally led 5,000 iron cavalry, along with 5,000 Han surrendered soldiers, to take the eastern route, and in a few days captured Changshan, Zichuan, and Xintai.

Although Huang Degong occasionally scattered troops from Chuzhou to resist within the city, the city was still largely unaffected.

However, Huang had previously adopted a strategy of deploying heavy troops to key towns to influence wider areas.

Therefore, in scattered small towns, there were not many troops stationed.

At present, the Northern Tartar troops are attacking, and their military strength is at its peak. Therefore, even if there is some resistance, it is difficult to achieve much and the effect is slowed down.

Thus, in less than half a month, Kong Youde's iron cavalry also pushed south to Xintai, and then advanced towards Yishui.

Liu Zeqing's troops, especially the vanguard, were prepared to defend Yishui. Their preparations were somewhat organized, and they did not advance north to reinforce the enemy. At the very least, they showed a willingness to resist the enemy in the Yishui area.

However, Liu Liangzuo's swift retreat and withdrawal were truly astonishing.

The western front collapsed even faster than the eastern front.

When this news reached Liu Zeqing of Yishui, the big-headed Liu was shaken.

At this point, it's not entirely accurate to say that they fled at the first sign of trouble or ran away like rats.

However, the desire to avoid the enemy and fear the tiger was quite rampant within his military.

Soon, Liu Zeqing, eager to back down, followed Liu Liangzuo's example and also retreated.

And this grandson, in order to take the initiative, shamelessly went further. Since he was going to retreat, he simply retreated completely. Damn it, with one withdrawal, he abandoned Mengyin and Lian, and regrouped his army all the way to the Lanling line.

Kong Youde, the commander of the enemy's left flank army, was overjoyed at the sight and became even more arrogant.

Without shedding a drop of blood, at the end of April, Ye seized Yishui and Mengyin, gaining a large tract of territory for free.

If it weren't for the later order from Dorgon to avoid stretching the battle line too far south and hindering rear supply, which ordered the troops to withdraw and garrison at their original locations, these two armies would probably have continued south at this pace, and it would have been very soon to reach Nanjing.

On April 29th, just as the troops of the two Lius had retreated and held their ground for several days, amidst the ruins and devastation on the walls of Jinan, Huang Degong, in a corner of the northern section, suffered a recurrence of his arrow wound to the left shoulder, which bled profusely. The army doctor, Ye Zheng, treated him accordingly.

"Tian Xiong?"

"Tian Xiong?!"

"Damn it, that bastard Tian Xiong, how did he disappear without a trace?"

"Go, you two, call Tian Xiong over here right now."

"Damn it, what's going on with this northern section?"

"Take advantage of the lull in the enemy's attack and quickly clear out the city's defenses."

"Why the hell are you all looking so miserable?"

"This is such a mess! What if the enemy soldiers arrive again later? How are we going to defend ourselves?!"

"quick!"

Huang Degong organized resistance against the enemy on the city wall. Just as the enemy's attack was about to be overtaken, he took advantage of the enemy's temporary retreat to catch his breath. He found a flat broken stone and sat down on it.

The army doctor followed and quickly treated the arrow wound. At the same time, he was busy with his hands and mouth, taking out some dry food from his pocket to eat. He also had no time to loosen the bowstring and was busy with everything.

While patrolling a corner of the North Gate, Ye was dispatched to oversee the soldiers' preparations for battle and the clearing of the field.

"Great General!"

"Here I am! I'm here."

A short while later, Huang Degong's personal guards went to search for him, and Tian Xiong, Huang Degong's deputy general, hurried over from the west.

When that fellow approached, he had a mournful face, which was quite disheartening.

Huang Degong noticed something was wrong and hurriedly questioned him again.

"Damn it, where did you go in such a short time?"

"What?"

"Why are you making such a long face too?"

"I heard they're still shelling from the west, but are the Tartar soldiers still besieging the city?"

Huang Degong was impatient and, despite being exhausted from working hard for days, he had no choice but to persevere.

He had no choice but to comply. The enemy's attacks had intensified recently, and he had to keep up with them without daring to slacken his efforts.

Therefore, seeing the pathetic state of his deputy general Tian Xiong, he became even more impatient and annoyed.

"Indeed, the enemy is still launching a fierce attack at Xiguan."

"but."

"This"

"Ugh!"

"General, General!"

"It's not that I'm making a face and bothering you."

"Indeed, it is."

"At the West Gate, the enemy soldiers attacking the city are all shouting."

"It is said that Yanzhou and Yishui have been occupied by the enemy."

"The armies of Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing retreated south."

"General, our isolated force has been holding Jinan until now."

"We've been delayed by the schemes of these two Lius, that's it."

"We are completely isolated and helpless, there is no hope left!"

"Handsome."

(End of this chapter)