Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 306 The Qing Dynasty's Foundation Destroyed in an Instant
The unmanned helicopter took off with a "buzzing" sound.

None of the rockets loaded on the aircraft were fired.

Because the helicopter has machine guns.

The Gatling gun, blazing with blue flames, swept across the area.

A few Qing soldiers in the back row who had managed to rein in their horses and flee in terror also fell in droves.

The Ming soldiers watching from afar all gasped in shock.

During the Battle of Chongqing, they were too far apart, and they were all near the west city wall, several kilometers away from the battlefield.

The area is covered with forests and has countless mountains and hills.

Hidden by trees and hills, the Southern Ming soldiers could only vaguely hear the continuous explosions and billowing smoke.

After the cannons finished plowing the land, the Hongwu soldiers launched a charge and plowed it again. When they arrived at the battlefield, all they saw were countless corpses, fragments, and limbs.

Needless to say, the Battle of Nanjing saw Hongwu soldiers place mortars on Yuhuatai, about one kilometer from the city of Nanjing.

Because Yuhuatai was within range of the Qing army's cannons, they could only retreat to a position between General Mountain and Yuhuatai, about four or five kilometers away from Nanjing, making it even more difficult to see the battlefield.

Therefore, whether it was the Battle of Chongqing or the Battle of Nanjing, the Southern Ming army never truly witnessed such a grand spectacle; at most, they experienced the deafening explosions that seemed like magic.

The specific situation on the battlefield was entirely based on imagination.

Some mythical versions are even circulating within the Southern Ming army.

For example, the founding emperor, sitting high in the clouds, could strike down with a powerful dragon strike, leaving no trace of his enemies.

Then, the soldiers of Hongwu were all immortals. They formed a group and used fireball magic. Countless black fireballs fell from the sky and instantly burst into terrifying flames upon landing in the Qing army's formation.

The latter is a consensus among many people.

After all, what they could see were indeed some black dots streaking across the sky, followed by huge explosions from the Qing army's side, and after the war ended, thick flames were produced.

This is the first time they have witnessed the fighting style of the Hongwu army firsthand.

It brought them a shock that was even greater than they had imagined.

Without a flash suppressor, the assault rifle spewed orange flames from its muzzle.

The Gatling gun is even more outrageous.

Blue flames shot up, tearing the Qing army in the distance to shreds and bursting into a cloud of blood mist, as if a person had been smashed into dust from a distance.

The Southern Ming soldiers were dumbfounded, many of them trembling and unable to resist moving away from the Hongwu soldiers.

After all, those Hongwu soldiers were displaying excited fervor on their faces, pulling triggers and reloading magazines at an astonishing speed. Who knows, they might kill them too if they got carried away with the killing spree.

The battle lasted very short.

In just about fifteen minutes, the once mighty Manchu cavalry was now a mountain of corpses.

Occasionally, injured horses would struggle to get up, neighing and howling in pain.

Many more warhorses and men had been reduced to minced meat, and few of their corpses remained intact.

Rifles and machine guns are not pistols.

Both of these gunshots, especially large-caliber machine guns, can truly tear a person to pieces when they hit them.

With machine guns and rifles in front, artillery bombardment behind, and drones strafing overhead, the Tartars enjoyed comprehensive and meticulous care, and they would never again be able to eat four dishes and a soup in their lives.

The war ended soon afterward, and the Hongwu soldiers, still feeling exhilarated, began to inspect their weapons. The roaring artillery fire ceased, and the unmanned helicopters slowly descended.

Without energy support, relying entirely on solar power as a mobile charging reserve, the unmanned helicopter must conserve its battery power.

"Clean the battlefield!"

Old Zhu looked around and waved his hand, saying, "The rest of you, attack the city."

The order was given.

The Southern Ming army began to withdraw from outside Cangzhou in an orderly manner, enduring their psychological and physical discomfort, and began to dig large pits on the spot to bury the bodies of the Tartars who had been blasted into mincemeat.

This is Zhu De's habit; he did the same during the Battle of Chongqing.

If the battlefield isn't cleaned up, with so many rotting corpses, the place will stink and breed maggots and bacteria once summer arrives in March or April.

And that's how the plague came about.

This is why plagues were rampant in ancient societies during times of war.

The Qing troops inside Cangzhou were already terrified.

Under the roar of cannons, the city was quickly breached, and a large number of Qing troops surrendered on the spot.

But Zhu Yuanzhang had already issued an order not to accept the surrender of the Tartars and to execute all of them.

The main reason is that these people were not newly recruited Green Standard Army soldiers.

The newly recruited Green Standard Army soldiers are still guarding Beijing.

The Qing dynasty itself knew that these newly recruited troops were of little use, and forcibly sending them to the battlefield would not only be tantamount to sending them to their deaths, but would also have negative effects.

For example, if the newly recruited Green Standard Army soldiers quickly collapse and flee as soon as the two sides start fighting, the result may be that their regular army is wiped out.

Therefore, it is better to intensify training and send them to guard the city than to be of no use at all.

Therefore, the troops Yue Le led were actually the elite of the Manchu Qing dynasty, consisting of 3,000 Manchu cavalry, 5,000 Han Eight Banners cavalry, and about 20,000 Mongol soldiers.

Now, the Manchu Qing dynasty had about 200,000 Manchu, Han and Mongol Eight Banners troops, most of whom had been killed or wounded. The remaining elite troops were few and far between, and could only be made up of Mongol cavalry.

The city's garrison consisted of several thousand Han Banner soldiers, all from Liaodong. They had followed Ajige, Dodo, Hauge, and others in committing numerous massacres of cities. They were not only skilled in horsemanship and archery but also adept at defending the city.

But they were powerless against firearms and were quickly wiped out.

By afternoon.

Old Zhu had already cleared the entire battlefield, and even shot down the Beijing scouts who were monitoring the area four or five kilometers away using unmanned helicopters.

Not to mention a single fleeing Tartar, probably not even a fly escaped, and Beijing didn't even know about it.

Cangzhou is very close to both Tianjin and Beijing.

After dealing with Yue Le, Zhu Yuanzhang gave an order, and riding the wave of victory, the Ming army rested on the spot for one night, and continued their grand northward march the next morning.

On the morning of the third day, after a day's march, they arrived in Tianjin and captured it.

On the fourth day at noon, the Ming army captured several county towns south and southeast of Beijing, including Wuqing, Dong'an, Yongqing, and Gu'an.

It was only at this point that Beijing learned of the situation, which enraged the Qing court.

On the evening of February 9th of the first year of the Chengwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, several scout cavalrymen swiftly entered the city.

After the news was reported, Empress Dowager Bumbutai, also known as Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, summoned many important officials to a court meeting overnight.

It wasn't actually midnight yet, it was around 10 p.m.

Many of the Manchu officials did not sleep.

The main point is that Yue Le sent a battle report to Beijing on February 5th, saying that he had defeated the Ming army, and then there was no further news.

It should be noted that Cangzhou is not far from Beijing, less than 200 kilometers away. Cavalry could deliver the message in a day, so it was impossible for it to take several days without any news.

At first, until February 7th, people did not realize the seriousness of the situation.

By February 7th, Sony had sent several scout teams to investigate, but none of them returned. It wasn't until two days later, on February 9th, that everyone realized something was wrong.

If Yue Le was too busy fighting the Ming army to write battle reports, how could none of the scouts he sent out have returned?
This isn't right.

So when everyone was in court today, they discussed this matter, but there was no response for a long time, so they could only do nothing. Even after the court session ended and they returned home, they tossed and turned and could not fall asleep.

When Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang summoned them to the palace, her anxiety finally subsided.

Because Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang delivered bad news.

Yue Le's entire army was wiped out!

The Ming army was known for its speed; they had covered over 300 li in three days and would be outside Beijing by tomorrow at the latest! Silence fell over the crowd in the hall.

The Manchu regents, including Sony, Suksaha, Ebilun, Bahana, Cheke, Marsai, and Esehe, as well as the scholars of the Three Academies, remained silent.

Han Chinese officials such as Fan Wencheng, Hong Chengchou, Jiang Hede, Cheng Kegong, Jin Zhijun, Hu Shian, Dang Chongya, Wei Zhouzuo, and Feng Quan turned slightly pale, their eyes filled with bewilderment.

No one expected the Ming army's offensive to be so swift.

Keep in mind that Yue Le had 30,000 cavalrymen, and this wasn't in the mountainous and forested areas of Chongqing, which were unfavorable for cavalry warfare, but rather on a plain.

In their minds, even if Yue Le was no match for him, he would surely be able to escape unscathed.

The result was another complete annihilation!

Another complete annihilation!

Annihilate the cavalry on the plains!

Simply unheard of.

It exceeded everyone's imagination.

Could it be.

Only the story of the Ming Taizu (Emperor Hongwu) descending to earth can make sense.

If that's the case.

Those Manchus might still have a way out.

At worst, we can retreat to the area outside the Great Wall.

Anyway, I've experienced the freezing cold outside the Great Wall before.

But what about the Han people?
Could it be that they followed the Manchus and retreated beyond the Great Wall to become savages?

Furthermore, they are Han Chinese officials of low status, so even if they are ministers, they will probably suffer from bullying.

For a moment, all the Han Chinese officials had shifty eyes and very ugly expressions.

after all.

The Ming army refused to accept surrender and vowed to kill these traitors who had surrendered to the Tartars.

Once the Qing army suffered a defeat and wanted to escape to the area beyond the Great Wall.

Those who stay will surely die.

Running away would be worse than death.

Thinking of this, all the Manchu Han officials looked worried.

Hong Chengchou's face already showed a dazed expression.

I wonder if he regrets surrendering to the Manchus and helping them kill countless Han people.

Or perhaps they are afraid of the reckoning they are about to face.

"Everyone."

The silence did not last long.

Bumbutai, his face grim, said, "You all know what happened. I've blocked the news, and the Ming army will be at the city gates tomorrow."

"Let's retreat to the area outside the pass."

Sony said with a somewhat pale expression, "It is not that our Great Qing is immoral, but that Heaven does not bless our Great Qing. The annihilation of tens of thousands of cavalry on the plains is something that has never been heard of before in history. This is no ordinary feat; it is probably true that Zhu Yuanzhang has come back to power."

"It must be because killing too many barbarians has offended the heavens. I said back then, 'Stop massacring cities, don't provoke a rebellion among the barbarians.' Now they're getting their comeuppance, aren't they?"

"What did you say? It's nothing more than currying favor with Dorgon."

"Heh, is Prince Rui wrong? Prince Rui ordered the frontline generals not to commit massacres, but what happened? How many Han people were killed? Now the Han people want revenge and want to cut off our heads. What? You don't think this is retribution?"

"Dorgon is a traitor who plotted against the country. Are you trying to exonerate him by saying these things now? Don't forget that you were the one who stood up to testify against him back then. You know what you did."

"you"

Several Manchu ministers were arguing amongst themselves.

What few people know is that even after the Manchus entered the Central Plains in the early Qing Dynasty, there were disputes over the subsequent route.

Prince Ajige believed that "the Liaodong people were not killed when we first gained control of Liaodong, which led to their massacre," and suggested that "a large-scale massacre should be carried out, with the princes left to guard Yanjing, while the main army should guard Shenyang or retreat to Shanhaiguan."

This means that the Manchus, unable to conquer the Central Plains, should learn from the Liao Dynasty, control the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, carry out large-scale massacres in North China (Henan and Hebei), and retreat their main forces to the area beyond the Great Wall.

This would create a situation similar to that of the Northern Song and Liao dynasties, similar to that of the Ming dynasty.

Many people agree with this view.

Only Dorgon listened to the advice of Han officials such as Zu Kefa and Zhang Cunren, and proposed a strategy of "saving the people from suffering and establishing the Central Plains" and opposed the policy of total massacre.

Therefore, despite the opposition, Beijing was chosen as the capital, and the massacres in the Henan and Hebei regions were refrained from.

However, Ajige, Dodo, Hauge, and others completely ignored Dorgon's orders and carried out massacres repeatedly when they went out to fight.

For example, Hauge massacred Sichuan, Ajige massacred Shanxi, and Dodo massacred Jiangnan.

of course.

Dorgon himself was no good either.

Let's not even mention that he was the one who massacred Shandong and Jinan before entering the pass.

Even after entering the pass, the massacre of Datong was an order he gave, and Ajige merely carried it out.

His later opposition to the massacre was not out of kindness, but because he wanted to rule and enslave the Han people and did not want to incite strong resistance from them through a large-scale massacre.

Therefore, it can only be said that Dorgon did issue orders prohibiting the massacre of cities and the arbitrary slaughter of Han people, but this does not mean that he was a good person.

Suksaha was previously a subordinate of Dorgon. When Dorgon issued orders, he cheered and supported Dorgon's policies. However, as soon as Dorgon died, he immediately turned against Shunzhi and exposed Dorgon's treasonous acts.

Now he stands up and says that Han people should not be slaughtered, which shows his fickle nature, like a reed in the wind.

Seeing everyone arguing, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang said angrily, "Alright, what's the use of saying all this now? The barbarians have already been killed, do you think you can bring them back to life? The most urgent thing now is to come up with a solution."

"Let's retreat to the area outside the pass."

"The barbarians will be outside the city tomorrow. Will they be able to retreat tonight? I'm afraid that as soon as we mention retreating to the border, the Green Standard Army will mutini, and the Mongols will also retreat immediately. What will we do when the Ming people chase us to the border?"

"Then what do you suggest we do? They can annihilate tens of thousands of cavalry on the plains, how can Beijing be defended?"

"We have to try no matter what, we have more troops than Chongzhen!"

"If you want to guard it, then you go guard it!"

The Manchu officials continued to argue.

Sony led the conservatives, who believed there was still hope of retreating to the outside world.

Ebilun was a soldier who followed Huang Taiji, Dorgon and others in their campaigns in the north and south. He believed that if they retreated to the area outside the Great Wall, everything would be over.

The Green Standard Army would definitely mutiny, and the Mongol allies they had tricked into joining would also flee. When they entered the pass, their army numbered over 100,000, and after establishing their rule in the Central Plains, their strength grew to over 800,000.

When they returned, there were only tens of thousands of people left. The Manchus lost all their possessions here. How could they stop the Ming army's attack when they chased them to the outside of the pass?
The two sides were deadlocked, and the Han officials looked at each other in bewilderment. They had almost no say in such disputes among the Manchu high-ranking officials.

Perhaps only Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou had a voice.

But neither of them knew what to say at that moment.

For a time, the hall was filled with arguments.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's face was pale, and the arguing in her ears only gave her a headache. She looked outside the palace.

The bright moonlight shone down, and the jade steps outside the palace were covered with silvery light.

The Qing Dynasty's foundation was like a rootless duckweed; a gust of wind or a surge of waves could destroy it in an instant.

(End of this chapter)