Who killed the Ming Dynasty?

On April 25, 1645, the Qing army captured Yangzhou.

Shi Kefa was captured and killed. Dodo, on the grounds that he refused to surrender, ordered the massacre of the city.

The prosperous city of Yangzhou for generations:

Corpses piled up, hands and feet intertwined, blood mixed with water turning blue-brown and then reddish-brown, transforming into five colors, leveling the ponds; everywhere, in front, behind, and to the left and right, corpses lay piled up like tangled hemp...

Order was not restored in the city until the second day of the fifth lunar month.

Officials were put in charge, and the number of corpses recorded in the cremation register was checked. The total number was approximately 800,000.

Outside the window, the bright moon hangs high in the sky, like a silver plate.

The cool moonlight spilled onto the river surface, breaking into pieces of leaping silver scales that shimmered and flickered with the rise and fall of the water.

The cabin was silent except for the soft gurgling of water flowing beneath the hull.

The fleet did not stop; it broke through the night and headed straight north like an arrow, heading directly for Xuzhou.

For several days in a row, the boat continued its journey.

As night fell, the lights of the ships were extinguished one by one; the next morning, the moonlight melted into the rising morning mist, and a layer of grayish-white water vapor rose from the river surface.

As the thin mist was dispelled by the rising sun, the boat slowed down, and the majestic outline of Xuzhou City came into view.

On the morning of the fourth day of the sixth lunar month, the fleet arrived at the city of Xuzhou.

Upon hearing the report, Zhu Cilang stepped out of the cabin and stood by the railing.

The dock was surrounded by armored soldiers, banners fluttering, and soldiers standing at attention, forming an impenetrable fortress around the entire dock.

The three people at the front of the line were particularly eye-catching:

The general on the left, clad in black armor, stood with his hand on his sword, as imposing as a mountain forged from iron—it was none other than Huang Degong, the Earl of Jingnan.

Han Zanzhou stepped forward and whispered:

"Your Majesty, please note—the man on the right, clad in gilded armor and embracing a beast, is General Gao Jie;"

"The man in the center, wearing a blue robe and a jade belt, is Zhu Yun'ao, the prefect of Xuzhou."

Zhu Cilang led his officials onto the dock, and everyone shouted "Long live the Emperor!" in unison.

The sound of the waves was like a tidal wave, startling the birds on the dock, which scattered into the sky.

Upon first meeting Gao Jie, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but recall Shi Kefa's solo entry into Gao's camp to relieve the siege of Yangzhou.

At the time, Gao Jie was just an arrogant brute, but now I realize that his troops were actually orchestrated by Madam Xing.

This expedition to Dezhou was only possible because Lady Xing carefully analyzed the advantages and disadvantages, and only then was she able to obey the imperial edict to assist in the battle.

If Dezhou can be captured, Xuzhou can be relieved of its heavy responsibility as a frontline outpost facing the northern frontier.

Looking again at the impeccably disciplined military ranks before him, gleaming in the sunlight, Zhu Cilang sighed inwardly:

Lady Xing, a woman of great talent, led a fierce and powerful army, a truly remarkable sight in a chaotic world.

Upon entering Xuzhou city, Zhu Cilang rode his horse at a leisurely pace.

He wanted to personally measure this strategically vital location, forged with iron and blood.

As you run your hand over the cracks in the rammed earth of the city wall, the weighty aura of a thousand years of history washes over you.

As he rode through the barbican, the rising sun cast the shadow of the arrow tower onto the stone walls of the barbican.

This strategic crossroads connects Shandong to the east, the Central Plains to the west, the Yangtze and Huai Rivers to the south, and Youyan to the north.

Just like the heart of the Chinese land, every beat of it affects the lifeline of the world.

The roar of Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu, the roar of Cao Cao's flooding of Xiapi, and the neighing of clashing swords and galloping horses... all seem to still echo between the city walls.

A clanging sound of scales snapping open his thoughts; it was the city's garrison commander who stepped forward to greet him.

Zhu Cilang spurred his horse, and his dragon steed neighed and transformed into an arrow, shattering the misty morning as it galloped deeper into the distance.

Inside the main hall of the Xuzhou military camp.

The morning light at three-quarters past Chen hour (7:45 AM) divided the hall in two.

A wisp of smoke rose straight up from the bronze incense burner, and the room fell silent for a moment.

Zhu Yun'ao, the prefect of Xuzhou, had beads of sweat on his forehead and looked nervous.

At the boundary between light and shadow, General Huang Degong's thick finger was pressed on the word "Dezhou" on the map;

Three steps away, Gao Jieqiu stood with his bushy beard bristling, Jiang Yueguang stroked his beard, and Lü Daqi stood with his hands behind his back, flanking the figure.

"Da, da, da!"

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats arose outside the hall, growing louder as it approached, until it abruptly stopped in front of the hall.

Zhu Cilang's sword sheath struck the ground with a clear, resonant sound.

"Report—!"

A night scout, drenched in sweat, burst into the hall, kneeling on one knee, dust falling from his armor.

"Your Majesty!"

"Dorgon has appointed the false military supervisor, Fang Dayou, to oversee the pacification efforts in Shandong."

"The Bordered White Banner's Bahana and the Bordered Red Banner's Shi Tingzhu were dispatched to lead the elite troops of the two banners southward. The vanguard was less than a hundred li away from Dezhou."

When Prefect Zhu Yun'ao heard that the Jurchens were approaching, his face turned pale. He took a half step back and knocked over the bronze incense burner on the table, causing the wisps of smoke to drift off course.

"Just as I expected!"

Zhu Cilang gripped the military report tightly in his right hand. Dorgon had finally arrived. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes:

"Dorgon harbors wolfish ambitions and plots to seize Shandong in order to sever my lifeline in the Jianghuai region."

"I personally led the six armies on the expedition precisely to stop the Jurchens' southward advance."

He suddenly turned his head to look at the generals.

"When the rebel Li Zicheng broke through the capital, we still had the mountains and rivers to rely on; but if Shandong is completely lost and the enemy cavalry drinks from the Huai River, then the southern capital will be as precarious as a pile of eggs."

"What effective strategies do you gentlemen have to defeat the enemy?"

Zhu Cilang tapped his knuckles on the name of the military report, "Bahana" (Aisin Gioro Bahana).

This scoundrel was a fierce general of the Bordered White Banner, and a great-grandson of Suo Chang'a.

At the age of seventeen, he joined Huang Taiji in the campaign against the southern desert. In the Battle of Songshan in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, he followed Ajige to break through the Ming army's outer defense line at Songshan.

In May of the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen reign, Dorgon occupied the capital and promoted him to the position of Gushan Ejen of the Bordered White Banner.

Together with Shi Tingzhu, they conquered Bazhou and Cangzhou, among others, and their fearsome reputation for "conquering four cities in three days" intimidated the Qi and Lu regions.

Dorgon's decision to send them south this time clearly indicates his intention to force the surrender of the Shandong prefectures and counties through plunder and burning.

Huang Degong, clad in full armor, stepped forward with a resounding thud and patted his chest:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured!"

"When I was twelve, I took up my sword to kill the enemy and earn money for wine. Back then, Zhang Xianzhong's 100,000 bandit troops besieged Tongcheng. I led 800 men to break through the encirclement and capture those three hawks alive."

He suddenly turned to face Gao Jie directly, his eyes like copper bells:

"What are the two banners of the Jurchens worth today? I request three thousand daredevils to wipe out Bahana's lair tonight."

Gao Jie took a half-step forward with a "whoosh," a mocking smile playing on his lips:

"Huang Shuai is brave and fierce, capable of cutting down the Tartar camp, but I still need this saber that has slit the throats of twelve bandits."

"Back then, in the bloody battle of Songshan, Bahana was nothing more than a foot soldier under Ajige; Shi Tingzhu was an even worse coward who betrayed his lord for personal gain! The so-called elite troops of the two banners..."

His words were sharp, and he suddenly bent down, dipped his finger in tea, and drew two streaks on the table—the red and white flag markings were clearly visible:

"The current Bordered White Banner troops number no more than five thousand, while when the Jianzhou old slave established the banner, each banner was allocated seven thousand five hundred combat soldiers."

"However, since the Battle of Sarhu, the Manchu population has been depleted, and there are only three or four thousand armored men left."

"The rest were nothing more than Han army bannermen and bondservants."

Zhu Cilang's brow remained unmoved. Dorgon had only sent two banners south this time, totaling no more than 15,000 troops.

The Ming Dynasty has gathered troops from Huang, Gao and Xuzhou, totaling more than 30,000, and on the surface, it does have a numerical advantage.

However, the Jurchens were all battle-hardened cavalry, far superior to the bandits.

Gao Jie abruptly withdrew his fingertips, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty! This humble general requests permission to lead my elite cavalry as the vanguard, and will surely present the heads of two barbarians to you within half a month."

"If I break this oath, please cut off my head and hang it at the gate."

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Degong roared:

"Stop making such a racket, kite!"

"While you were rummaging through the ravines in southern Shaanxi, I had already chopped off the heads of Tartars in Liaodong."

"Your little kites who can fly over mountains are good at navigating ravines, but if they were to go head-to-head with the Iron Pagoda of the Bordered White Banner, they'd probably wet their pants."

Gao Jie reached out and flicked the rust off Huang Degong's breastplate, sneering:

"Wasn't the one Huang Chuangzi killed back then a bondservant?"

Zhu Cilang looked at Gao Jie.

He suddenly realized that although this man was known for his "courage and skill in battle," he was also arrogant and unruly. His willingness to fight to the death must have been orchestrated by Madam Xing in secret.