allendalepharm Chapter 1361 Chen Xiao: I am enjoying it and can’t help myself (seeking monthly votes!)
Chapter 1361 Chen Xiao: I am enjoying it and can’t help myself (seeking monthly votes!)
Chapter 1361 Chen Xiao: I am enjoying it and can’t help myself... (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
Haizhouwei
After a stalemate of several days under the Gaizhou Fortress, when the Han army launched a massive attack on the city, Hebei Governor Kang Hong and Jia Fang also led 20,000 cavalry, bypassed the Gaizhou Fortress, and rushed all the way to the Haizhou Fortress.
In the Haizhouwei City, there was a group of elite Jurchen soldiers, numbering about 4,000.
At this moment, on the top of the city wall, a large number of Jurchen soldiers looked alert and looked towards the direction of Gaizhou City from time to time.
As the Han Dynasty sent its navy across the sea to attack, the entire Liaodong region fell into a state of panic and alert.
At this moment, the news of Gaizhou's defeat had not yet reached Haizhou City.
The commander guarding the city was named E'nahai, who was about thirty years old and was a deputy governor of the Plain White Banner.
At this moment, he was in the military tent, holding a wine jug and drinking, accompanied by two officers.
"It's getting a little colder as autumn begins." E'nahai picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of food, and said softly.
Another Jurchen officer beside him smiled and said, "Yes, it gets cold early here. I was planning to wear the leather mattress that the regent gave me last year."
Enahai nodded and said, "Yes, come, have a drink."
This Jurchen commander-in-chief was very fond of wine.
Just as the three of them were toasting, a lieutenant suddenly stumbled into the hall, his face full of panic, and whispered, "General, it's bad, the Han people are coming to kill us."
Upon hearing this, E Nahai's expression suddenly changed. He stood up suddenly and said, "What's going on? Aren't the Han people in Gaizhouwei? Why did they run to Haizhou?"
The lieutenant said, "General, many of the Han soldiers are cavalry."
Kushha, the lieutenant commander at the side, said, "General, the Han dogs are coming. We should go to the top of the city to meet them."
After hearing this, E Nahai seemed to react and said quickly: "Yes, yes, meet the enemy, meet the enemy!"
As he said this, he put down the wine cup in his hand, stood up, and led his soldiers to the top of the city.
Then, with the help of his groom, he put on a set of armor and took a saber. The bright light of the saber was as clear as water, and seemed to reflect E'nahai's face clearly, but it was not known whether it was due to the angle at which he was standing.
Onahai's neck was hovering near the blade.
E'nahai said nothing more and led a group of officers out of the yamen and headed towards the city gate tower.
At this moment, before the Acropolis
Hebei Governor Kang Hong and Jia Fang led a large number of cavalrymen towards Haizhou City. Although there were soldiers on the city gate, they did not expect the Han army to come.
"Woooo..."
The horn sounded, desolate and rapid, and the Haizhou Acropolis, which had been in a deep sleep, suddenly woke up.
A large number of Jurchen soldiers were armed with weapons and ready for battle.
The Han army was also well prepared at this moment, and launched a massive attack on Haizhou City with ladders and ropes.
For a time, the war between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out.
A large number of Han troops fired muskets and bombs at Haizhou City Wall, and immediately, the soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Jurchens screamed in agony.
Because the Han army had the advantage in manpower, a large number of soldiers came to attack and they were well prepared.
By the afternoon, the Haizhou City Wall began to crumble.
With a cheer, the city gate was slowly lowered, and a large number of Han soldiers rushed into Haizhou City through the city gate.
As the dragon flag was taken down from its perch by the Han army and replaced with a flag with the character "Han", the Haizhou City Wall, which had been occupied for thirty or forty years, returned to the embrace of the Han Dynasty.
Kang Hong led a group of officers into the government hall, sat down, and asked, "Where is General Jia?"
"General Xiao Jia has led his troops to chase the commander in the city."
After the city was breached, the commander of the city was so scared that he drank more than half of the wine. Then, just as he was about to go to the top of the city wall to resist, he heard that the Han army was attacking fiercely, and then the city was somewhat breached.
The main general in the city, E'nahai, acted decisively and fled from Haizhou City with his personal attendants.
After Jia Fang led a group of soldiers into Haizhou City, he swept across the entire city wall with almost invincible force.
Kang Hong nodded, not caring at all, and said, "Clean up the city and be ready to meet the enemy at any time."
Jia Fang is a member of Jia Heng's clan. Young men who go out to fight also need to make meritorious contributions to be promoted. As Kang Hong is the governor of Hebei, it will probably fall on Jia Heng to be awarded the fifth-class title.
Kang Hong only has the title of second-class son. He is old and must want to lay a legacy of earldom for his descendants.
The current Korean War is an opportunity.
But how much credit can be ultimately achieved actually lies more in the hands of coach Jia Heng.
As the Han army cleared out the remaining Jurchen soldiers in Haizhouwei City, they divided into more than ten teams and began to take over the nearby forts to deal with the enemy.
When it was getting dark, Kang Hong was writing a victory report by lamplight, preparing to report it to Jia Heng in Gaizhou Wei.
At this time, a clerk from the Ministry of Experience came quickly and said, "Admiral Kang, General Jia is back."
After a while, Jia Fang entered the hall with a strong and heavy smell of blood around him.
Kang Hong smiled and came out from behind the table and asked, "How is it?"
Jia Fang said, "Admiral Kang, I have accomplished your mission."
As he spoke, a personal soldier beside him carried a human head wrapped in a battle robe.
Kang Hong nodded and said, "Okay, we have killed another general. General Jia, you have worked hard on this journey. Go take a shower and change your clothes first. We will have a drink later and discuss how to arrange the defense."
Jia Fang bowed in response and left the hall.
……
……
Time passed quickly like running water, and in the blink of an eye it was already mid-to-late October of the eighteenth year of Chongping.
Shengjing City, Palace Garden——
Since the beginning of autumn, the weather has been cloudy and rainy, with dark clouds rolling in and the air filled with a chilly chill.
At this moment, Dorgon was wearing a black cloak, standing in front of the window, looking at the bleak scenery outside the window. His face was haggard and his eyes were blank.
In the past few days, secret letters from the officers and soldiers of Gaizhou Guard requesting reinforcements came one after another, making Dorgon extremely anxious.
At this time, the eunuch behind him said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Fan is here."
Since the beginning of autumn, Fan Xiandou has suffered from asthma and cough. In other words, this veteran minister of the Qing Dynasty, who has served three dynasties, is gradually reaching the end of his life as he grows older.
He really worked hard for the establishment of the Jurchen nation all his life.
Dorgon said quickly: "I will go to meet him."
Having said that, he turned and left the inner study.
After a while, Dorgon saw Fan Xiandou walking under the eaves with a slightly staggering step, supported by a servant, and the sound of his coughing was endless, spreading far throughout the palace corridor.
Dorgon said: "Mr. Fan, you are here."
As he spoke, he came forward, stretched out his arm to support Fan Xiandou, then walked into the hall and sat down.
At this time, the eunuch bowed, brought the teacup, and slowly retreated.
Fan Xiandou raised his eyes to look at Dorgon and whispered, "Prince Regent, has the military report from Haizhou been delivered?"
Dorgon shook his head, his face full of worry, and said, "Mr. Fan, the situation is not good."
As he sat down, he said in a deep voice, "Ebilun reported that the Han army has fierce firepower and a large number of troops. According to the scouts' calculations of the number of ships and troops, there must be at least 100,000 soldiers and horses."
Fan Xiandou stroked his gray beard and said, "Ebilun also has more than 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command. It should not be difficult to resist."
Dorgon said, "I thought so before, but the reports sent by Ebilun in the past few days asking for help all show that the Han army's artillery fire is fierce and Ebilun's troops are restricted everywhere."
Upon hearing this, Fan Xiandou frowned, his eyes filled with worry, and said, "Your Highness, the Han army that came from afar this time is the Jiangnan Navy, which is not good at field battles, but is good at the unpredictable power of cannons and guns. Ebilun has deployed his troops in the city. Isn't this using our own weaknesses to meet the enemy's strengths?"
Dorgon was shocked when he heard this and said, "The Han court has sent 100,000 troops to attack us. They are coming with great force and their strength is several times greater than ours. How can we rashly go out of the city to fight in the field?"
Unknowingly, the psychological advantage that the Jurchens once had when facing the Han Dynasty gradually disappeared after repeated failures.
Fan Xiandou shook his head and said, "Your Highness has been deceived. Among the Han court's troops, the Beijing Camp is the most elite. Over the years, they have fought against the Qing Dynasty and won every time. They also conquered the Khoshut and Dzungar tribes in the northwest and won victory after victory. Their bravery is not as good as the two yellow flags of the eight banners of the Qing Dynasty."
Dorgon nodded, indicating his agreement with Fan Xiandou, and said, "Mr. Fan is right, but our two yellow flags only have 10,000 or 20,000 people, while the Han army..."
Fan Xiandou said softly: "Not all the Han army's Beijing camps are unrivaled in combat power. There are also strong and weak ones, and it also depends on who is leading the troops."
Dorgon felt the same way and said, "If a general is incompetent, the whole army will be exhausted. It is possible that he will lose his army and humiliate the country, just like the Prince of Nan'an did."
"Among the numerous Han troops, the next most powerful are the Nine Frontier Troops, and the last is the Jiangnan Navy. They rely on the advantages of muskets at sea, and their opponents are mostly pirates. They can hardly be called elite." Fan Xiandou said in a hoarse voice, meeting Dorgon's gaze.
"In my opinion, if Ebilun goes out of the city to fight in the wild, following the example of our dynasty's Taizu and Taizong, he may be able to defeat the Han army." Fan Xiandou said suddenly and shockingly.
Dorgon's pupils shrank, his heart was shaken, and he murmured, "Greatly defeated the Han army?"
Dorgon naturally knew what these four words meant.
This means that the Han army was defeated across the board under the charge of the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Jurchens.
Once the defeat is overwhelming, even if Jia Heng has the courage of the ancient evildoer, it will be difficult to save the situation.
Dorgon said: "I will send someone to inform Ebilun right away, and the whole army will attack and defeat the Han army."
Fan Xiandou nodded and said yes softly.
However, at this moment, a voice from an eunuch came from outside: "Prince Regent, urgent military report from the front line six hundred miles away."
Shengjing City, also known as Shenyang, was originally not far from Gaizhou (Yingkou). After the defeat on the front line, the news of the defeat was delivered to Shengjing City by the Jurchen officers and soldiers who fled from Gaizhou City without any delay.
Dorgon had a bad feeling in his heart and glanced at Fan Xiandou who was not far away. He also saw some worry in the other's old eyes.
Sure enough, Dorgon took the military report and read it eagerly, only to feel a black screen in front of his eyes and he could hardly control himself.
Fan Xiandou asked with concern in his old eyes, "Your Majesty, what does the military report say?"
Dorgon looked dejected, with disbelief in his eyes, and sighed: "More than 30,000 soldiers under Ebilun were all killed, and Ebilun also died in the battle. Only a few thousand soldiers escaped."
Ebilun was the grandson of Nurhaci. After Dorgon assisted the new emperor Fulin to ascend the throne, in order to win the hearts of the people, he lavishly rewarded a number of old heroes. It turned out that this person from the royal family who did not get a title in the Qing Dynasty in a parallel universe was also given the title of Beile to show his close relationship.
Fan Xiandou's expression also grew gloomy and he let out a long sigh.
The thing he was most worried about finally happened.
The sudden loss of 30,000 elite troops had shaken the foundation of the country, and the Qing Dynasty was at a critical juncture of life and death.
Dorgon didn't react for a long time, or rather, he simply couldn't believe it.
Since the establishment of the Jurchen nation, Nurhaci started the war with only thirteen sets of armor, established a foundation for three generations, and accumulated more than 100,000 elite soldiers of the Eight Banners. However, they were rapidly weakened in the past few years.
As for Jurchen princes like Yuetuo and Duoduo, they died one after another.
Fan Xiandou suddenly said, "Your Majesty, please defend Shengjing."
A sentence that sounded old and filled with infinite sorrow suddenly awakened Dorgon who was falling into a certain state.
Dorgon calmed down and said, "Mr. Fan, what about the North Korean side..." Is it too late to save the situation now?"
Fan Xiandou looked solemn and said, "Withdraw the troops and defend Shengjing, otherwise our foundation will be lost."
As he spoke, he coughed a few more times, feeling haggard in his heart.
Dorgon: “…”
"Mr. Fan." Dorgon looked at him fiercely, nodded and asked.
Fan Xiandou said: "Now is the time when our Qing Dynasty is facing life and death. It is not appropriate to send soldiers to Korea, otherwise we will repeat the mistakes of Japan."
Dorgon nodded and said, "Mr. Fan is right. We should withdraw our troops. Otherwise, the Han court has a navy. If they attack by land and sea, the Qing Dynasty will be in danger of collapse."
Fan Xiandou said, "Your Majesty, please mobilize more troops from the country. With the speed of the Han army, they have probably already swept Gaizhou and Haizhou."
In Fan Xiandou's opinion, the few thousand soldiers and horses of Haizhou alone could not stop the powerful Han army.
Dorgon nodded and said, "Mr. Fan is right. I will call together all the princes and ministers in the country."
Then, he ordered the eunuch to gather a group of people.
The current high-level Manchu dynasty officials are truly starving of talent since Daishan died of old age, Dudu was beheaded, and a number of royal family members such as Yuetuo, Duoduo, and Haoge died out.
But at the same time, people of the younger generation such as Aobai, Mandahai, Shuosai and others also emerged and began to serve as pillars of the family.
……
……
Let’s not talk about what happened in the Qing Dynasty, but Gaizhouwei——
It was already nightfall, and the autumn wind was blowing, stirring the withered reeds, making a rustling sound.
After the Han army captured Gaizhou City, they took a break. Jia Heng was in the back hall of the Wei Si Yamen, behind the desk, looking down at the book in his hand.
Gaizhou Wei was not just a military fortress, it also governed some civilians, although not many, but there were tens of thousands of people.
But it's still a bit sparse after all.
The land of Liaodong still needs immigrants to settle on the border.
Jia Heng thought so and closed the fish scale book, his eyes looking distant and empty.
At this time, Gu Ruoqing, who was standing aside, looked at the determined young man in the python costume. Curiosity surged in his crystal clear eyes under his curved willow-leaf brows, and he asked, "What are you thinking about now?"
Sometimes, although I had discussed the general situation with some Jiangnan scholars in the past, those were just paper talk. It was very rare for me to communicate with an important military official at such a close distance.
Jia Heng nodded and asked, "I am thinking about how Liaodong can remain the land of the Han Dynasty forever."
Gu Ruoqing's beautiful face paused for a moment. Her beautiful eyes were as clear as water under her slender eyebrows. She said, "But have you thought of a solution?"
Jia Heng smiled and said, "We can send immigrants from the country to fill up Liaodong, then set up an official system to make Liaodong self-sufficient, and then pay the surplus to the Ministry of Revenue. Then Liaodong can be a Han territory forever."
We still have to be able to collect taxes.
Otherwise, given the nature of the civil servants of the Central Plains dynasty, they would probably abandon Liao in large numbers again.
Gu Ruoqing thought about it, puzzled, and said: "The Jurchens used Liaodong as their base. How could they be independent in such a cold and bitter place?"
Jia Heng smiled, looked at the beautiful "high-quality older leftover woman", and said: "If you want to clarify this question, it is very good. It is nothing more than the Central Plains dynasty is proud of its rich land and is afraid of the bitter cold and hardship of opening up. This is what the Confucian Mencius said, if there is no law at home and no enemies outside, there will be foreign troubles. The country will always perish, and then we will know that life is born in worry and death in comfort."
Hearing this, Gu Ruoqing's eyes sparkled as she looked at the young man in the python costume who was talking eloquently.
Jia Heng explained: "Because the Jurchens do not have vast and rich lands like Jiangnan, Huguang, Bashu, and the Central Plains, but only bitter and cold lands, they can work hard and persevere."
Although it is not good to sing the praises of suffering, suffering does temper people's will.
Gu Ruoqing's willow-shaped eyebrows curved slightly, and her clear eyes flickered, as if she understood the key point, and said: "For example, the Qin State was able to unify the six kingdoms in the bitter cold land of the northwest in the past, probably because of this."
Jia Heng smiled, praised her, looked at the graceful and quiet beauty, and said, "Ruoqing, you can draw inferences from one example. You are really a teachable child."
When Gu Ruoqing heard this, she glared at Jia Heng with anger, and an inexplicable feeling of shame and annoyance surged in her heart.
This man is becoming more and more frivolous towards her.
Or rather, thinking back to the hugs and kisses during the past few days, Gu Ruoqing had gradually become familiar with the close relationship with Jia Heng.
At this moment, Chen Xiao walked quickly in from outside the military tent, his eyes swept towards Gu Ruoqing, a hint of amusement inevitably revealed on that fair and delicate face.
The senior sister used to sneer at him, but now she enjoys it and can't help herself.
In fact, this is questioning, understanding, becoming...
Seeing Chen Xiao's "amusing" look, Gu Ruoqing looked a little unnatural. Her originally cold voice trembled a little bit as she said, "Junior sister, you are here."
Jia Heng turned his eyes to Chen Xiao and asked, "Xiaoxiao, what's the matter?"
Chen Xiao snorted coldly, rolled his eyes at the young man, and said, "It's okay, I can't disturb you two, right?"
Jia Heng said: "That's not the case."
Chen Xiao did not continue to talk to Jia Heng, and handed over a military report in his hand: "Victory report from Haizhou."
Jia Heng took a report of victory from Chen Xiao, met Gu Ruoqing's gaze, and explained: "Haizhou Guard has been taken, and our army has completely established a foothold in Liaodong."
Chen Xiao said: "The Jurchens will most likely withdraw their troops from Korea next. What are your plans? Will you continue to march into Shengjing?"
Jia Heng said: "After resting, we will march into Shengjing. At least we need to shock Dorgon. As for Ajige, Aobai and others, we need to wait a little longer."
Chen Xiao frowned and asked, "Should we send a letter to the Jingying in Shenjing and ask them to send troops by land and sea to destroy Liaodong?"
Jia Heng shook his head and said, "It's just a small victory now, the outcome is not yet determined, we can't force it. Besides, a war to annihilate a country is not something that can be launched hastily, so let's wait a little longer."
It seems that the Han Dynasty won the first move, and the Qing Dynasty was severely damaged, even to the point of shaking the foundation of the country. However, when the country was destroyed and the family was ruined, the Qing Dynasty might not fail to unleash its potential between life and death.
Moreover, the Han Dynasty was not yet fully prepared for war.
Chen Xiao thought for a moment and said softly, “I’m afraid that the capital doesn’t think so and thinks this is an opportunity to destroy the country.”
Jia Heng said in a clear voice: "In ten days or so, it will be November, and Liaodong will have heavy snow. The war may not start. It is just right to mobilize troops after the beginning of spring next year to pacify Liaodong. My Han will also have more opportunities to prepare for war."
The Liaodong area was in the Little Ice Age, so the snow fell very thickly and it was very cold in winter. The breath turned into ice, so there was no way to fight the war.
Chen Xiao said: "This is good. When the weather gets colder, Gaizhou and Haizhou will be able to avoid the attacks of the Jurchens for the time being."
Gu Ruoqing, who was standing aside, listened to their conversation.
Jia Heng said, "Wait a minute, I will send the victory report and memorial to the capital, and explain the pros and cons. Besides, we should solve the Korean issue first, or solve the Korean issue and Liaodong issue together."
Chen Xiao nodded and said nothing more.
(End of this chapter)