Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 218: Powerful and overwhelming

The white dove spread its wings and soared, passing over the vast ocean and crossing mountains and rivers. After it flew over the black ruins of one fort after another, it finally saw a city on the east bank of the river.

But this city was a little different from the previous ones. Thousands of gray and white tents were like cheap porcelain bowls turned upside down outside the city, stretching for miles.

The white pigeon did not understand these complicated messages, it only knew that it was going home.

It flew happily into its familiar home and was caught by a pigeon breeder before it landed.

The man skillfully pulled out the paper roll from the leather case. Seeing that the ends of the paper roll were wrapped with red thread, he immediately realized that this was important military intelligence. He quickly sealed the information into a wooden box and carried it on his back.

The man led a fast horse and left Gaizhou, heading towards the next post station.

The next post station and express delivery shop took over the important intelligence, and the team continued to rush forward, changing people and horses. The important intelligence crossed Haizhou and Liaoyang all the way to Shenyang and was finally delivered to the Ministry of War. The whole process took no more than a day.

However, the most important thing is that His Majesty the Emperor is not in Shenyang, but is waiting for his trusted general Jirgalang ten miles north of Shenyang.

Jirgalang was ordered to conquer the Solon tribe, and now he has returned triumphantly with over 10,000 Qing cavalrymen in command.

He rode his BMW and jumped off the ground a hundred steps away. With an excited smile on his face, he ran over at full speed, taking two steps at a time.

Jirgalang stopped precisely three steps away and was about to salute the emperor when Huang Taiji stepped forward and gave him a tight hug.

At this moment, the two cousins ​​only discussed family ties, not the relationship between the ruler and his subjects.

Jirgalang was deeply moved when he thought that Huang Taiji had already become the emperor and used the "hug greeting" to bring them closer together.

"I have captured 3,500 men from the Solon tribes for Your Majesty." Jirgalang pointed sideways at the captives being led at the rear of the column.

"Great! This way, we can increase the number of men in each of the Manchu Niulu of the Eight Banners." Huang Taiji said with joy, "You are a great hero in this battle. Your Bordered Blue Banner will be selected first."

Upon hearing this, Jirgalang was delighted again, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

Huang Taiji pondered for a moment and wanted to say something else when he suddenly saw more than ten riders on fast horses galloping towards Shenyang.

The leader quickly dismounted, ran to Huang Taiji, knelt down, and held up a wooden box with both hands. "Your Majesty, a letter from Gaizhou."

He took the wooden box and took out the paper scroll wrapped with red thread. He pulled out a knife and gently cut the red threads one by one. There was a lot of key information recorded on the paper scroll.

To sum up, King Zhishun was captured alive, the navy was completely destroyed, and the Ming army, taking advantage of the great victory, gathered 10,000 to 20,000 troops to cross the sea and attack southern Liaoning.

Huang Taiji's face was gloomy. He turned around and issued a few brief orders to several guard commanders. Then, with a smile on his face, he instructed Jirgalang to hand over the prisoners to the personnel of the Ministry of War.

He had some "trivial matters" that needed to be dealt with urgently, so he didn't ask about matters like the celebration banquet.

Huang Taiji stepped on the back of the Baoyi to climb onto the warhorse, and his fat body was like an ellipsoid pressing on the horse's back.

He quickly rushed back to Shenyang and summoned a group of princes, beile, Gushan Ezhen and Han ministers to discuss the matter.

Thanks to the spies he placed in Zhili and Shandong, he was able to quickly grasp many changes.

The complete destruction of Prince Zhishun's navy meant that the Qing Dynasty lost its hard-earned control of the sea.

The Qing Dynasty was unable to blockade the Bohai Sea, nor could it cross the sea to attack Denglai. Huang Taiji's "Denglai Strategy" came to nothing.

Huang Taiji could also guess that Lushun and Jinzhou would definitely be lost.

The three strategic locations south of Gaizhou are about to return to the hands of the Ming army, and the situation in southern Liaoning seems to have returned to four years ago overnight.

It is both the Beiwei Army and the Black Flag Army.

This group of strong men defeated his army heading south and also defeated the Han navy that he had carefully recruited.

Who are they anyway? Why do they always oppose the Qing Dynasty?

He ordered his spies to spread rumors of "praising to death", which the young emperor was convinced of, and he kept mobilizing strong troops from the Black Flag Camp to run around.

But the strange thing is that the elite soldiers of the boy surnamed Li seem to be endless. In the battle of Nanyang, more than 2,000 Black Flag soldiers were wiped out. Now the Beiwei Army stationed in Dengzhou has been winning battles again and again.

Either General Li has a good way of training his troops, and any old, weak, sick or disabled person can be trained into a strong and elite army.

Either this person possesses a special "secret method" that allows soldiers from the Black Flag Camp to maintain their combat effectiveness wherever they go, such as regularly taking some kind of secret elixir.

The Black Flag Army, which was in its heyday, thus came into Huang Taiji's sight.

He conveyed instructions to the spies stationed in the capital, ordering them to find out information about the Black Flag Army. Soon, the information collected by the spies was transmitted back through special channels.

It is rumored that the Black Flag Army arose from the valley in southern Henan. General Li, relying on his extraordinary ability, organized thirteen able-bodied men from villages and defeated the dangerous bandits in one fell swoop.

As the beggar bandits rose to power, he organized his servants to defend the city and protect the people from the suffering of war. Then he assessed the situation and, seeing the opportunity when the bandits were leaving, led his servants to retake the county town.

However, he did not kill the bandits' families. Instead, he escorted them out of the country with courtesy. As a result, he reached a "gentleman's agreement" with the bandits. For a whole year, the two sides did not invade each other, and only small groups of scattered troops occasionally clashed.

Later, General Li defeated the Tiger Bandits, went north to resist the Eight Banners, and quickly defeated the Red Turban Bandits. He returned home and within less than a season, he personally led the army to recapture four cities.

Even Huang Taiji couldn't help but sigh when he saw this information, thinking that he wished he had a son like Governor Li.

If Li Mu were his son, the Qing Dynasty would surely prosper. Everyone praised Governor Li's loyalty, but Huang Taiji held the opposite opinion.

Huang Taiji didn't believe that there was such a loyal person in this world, or rather, he didn't believe that Zhu Youjian, such a person of poor moral character, was worthy of such a loyal and righteous person.

He guessed that General Li must have some plan. This man was only in his twenties and already held a high position. If he made great achievements in the future, what rewards would the Ming court give him?

Be granted the title of marquis, duke, or even be given the title of king?

Even if Li Mu himself had no ulterior motives, the situation would force him to take a path that he could not bear to take.

Moreover, when Huang Taiji looked at the crude sand table, he was surprised to find that Li Mu was making arrangements in various places within the Great Wall.

Young General Li clearly has the ability to wipe out the beggar bandits but he is not in a hurry to do it. Maybe he wants to "retire at the right time" or he may be keeping the bandits at bay and waiting for the court to promote him and reward him.

This guy obeyed the court's order to dispatch troops to various places. One part went to Dengzhou, one part went to Nanyang in southern Henan, and another part will be dispatched to western Liaoning in the future.

It seemed that the imperial court was being allowed to decentralize and weaken, but Huang Taiji, who was also an ambitious man, smelled a conspiracy.

If General Li can control the branch troops, these brave soldiers will be decentralized on the surface, but in fact they will occupy important places in various provinces. Once the situation changes, the territories of several provinces will fall into the hands of General Li.

But Huang Taiji couldn't figure out what was happening along the way to Nanyang.

General Li wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to occupy the important city of Nanyang under the pretext of supporting friendly forces, but he did not expect that the defenders would close the gates and refused to open them, which led to the annihilation of his entire army.

Or are you truly loyal to your country?

Two thousand elite soldiers are too precious. It is impossible that General Li sent them to die on purpose.

It was the defeat in Nanyang that caused him to never see through General Li's true intentions. Is he a loyal man or a traitor?
If Li Mu is ambitious and plots to conquer the whole world, a new question arises:

Since the Black Flag Army was General Li Xiaojiang's core force, why did he obey the imperial military order and be sent to Dengzhou and southern Liaoning, consuming his own direct line for a potential opponent like the Ming court?

Any ruler with normal IQ would not belittle himself and make things difficult for others.

Huang Taiji thought about it over and over but couldn't figure out why General Li sent troops to southern Liaoning and fought to the death for the Southern Dynasty?
If he is truly a rare loyal minister, would he only seek the title of a prince and a good name that will be recorded in history?
Compared with the kingdom of the world, the mere title of king or duke and the name left in history are nothing.

General Li had thousands of elite Black Flag Army soldiers and clearly had the capital to dominate the world, but he was willing to be driven by the Ming court and waste his elite troops. This was simply stupid.

Preserving strength and waiting for changes in the world before stepping out to sweep the world is what a hegemon should truly do.

Huang Taiji couldn't figure it out, so he didn't bother to think about this person's true intentions anymore...

The spies discovered that the Beiwei Army had a little over 2,000 elite soldiers, while the Black Flag Army, which had defeated the left and right Eight Banners at the beginning of the year, had at least 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers.

According to the statistics, the 5,000 to 6,000 Black Flag Army can cooperate with the friendly forces, and can fight against the 40,000 to 50,000 Qing auxiliary troops alone.

The two thousand elite soldiers of the Beiwei Army, who are slightly weaker in combat power, can almost rival the ten thousand soldiers of the Qing Dynasty.

Including other Ming troops, Huang Taiji only needed to arrange more than 30,000 auxiliary troops to almost tie with them, or even gain a slight advantage.

However, the war situation in southern Liaoning was not urgent. Even if the enemy captured three important locations, they would still have to travel more than 200 miles to Gaizhou in the north, and the food supply routes behind them were full of loopholes.

As long as the Qing army's heavy troops were stationed in front to contain the enemy and the light cavalry went around to harass the food supply route, no matter how strong the Beiwei army was, it would have to follow the friendly forces and retreat back to Huizhou.

What’s more important is that the Ming army in western Liaoning actually took action.

These people usually only engage in minor conflicts, but they actually sent troops to attack Yizhou.

The Liaoxi area has always been a thorn in Huang Taiji's side. If he wants to enter the pass safely and occupy the northern part of the Southern Dynasty, he must seize Liaoxi and even the important city of Shanhaiguan.

Originally, there was no incident in southern Liaoning. He planned to gather heavy troops to besiege Jinzhou. Even if it took a year or two to capture the city, he had to do it. He could also surround the city and attack the reinforcements to deplete the Southern Dynasty's manpower.

Now the Ming court did not think about defense, but instead took the initiative to send troops to attack.

He was eager to destroy as many mobile forces of the Ming army as possible, but he didn't expect that the little emperor would come to him. It was like someone giving him a pillow when he was sleepy.

After a group of civil and military officials revised and supplemented the strategic details, Huang Taiji finally established the next strategic priorities.

Two out of every three men from the Eight Banners of Manchu, Mongolian and Han nationality were drafted to form a 100,000-strong Eight Banners combat force.

The army that marched south was replaced by Ajige as the commander-in-chief and Duoduo as the deputy commander-in-chief. The entire army consisted of 15,000 bannermen, 10,000 bondservants, 10,000 men from three Han princes, and 5,000 Koreans, a total of 40,000 troops marched south.

Hauge, who has been staying in Gaizhou and suffers from "fear of the dark", is not suitable to attack the Beiwei Army. He should go to the Zhengxi Army to fight the Liaoxi Ming Army to relieve his stress.

The Western Expedition Army was led by Jirgalang as commander-in-chief, with Dorgon and Hauge as deputy commanders. They led 10,000 bannermen and 20,000 bondservants, and contacted the Outer Mongolians to send 10,000 troops to jointly deal with the Ming army in western Liaoning.

The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, with 60,000 soldiers of the Eight Banners and 40,000 armed bannermen, a total of 100,000 troops stationed in Liaoyang, would personally lead the troops to expand the results of the war no matter what achievements were made in the south or west.

This time he was fighting on two fronts, and he was determined to make sure that the Southern Dynasty would no longer dare to attack the land outside the Great Wall.

The Qing Dynasty is bound to overwhelm the Ming Dynasty, and Huang Taiji will definitely become the master of the world!

(End of this chapter)