Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 432 Approaching

In the battle of Cangzhou, of the 5,000 Eight Banners soldiers that Dorgon left to Adali, except for more than 100 who were lucky enough to be rescued by Leng Sengji, the rest were all killed in the city.

The defending general Adari suffered the most, he was almost chopped to pieces, because this was Qian Biao's masterpiece. Qian Biao hated this man's behavior of insulting the king on the city wall, so he wanted to fulfill his promise and tear this man's mouth apart.

The Zhou army suffered more than 1,800 casualties and more than 1,100 deaths. The greatest casualties on the Zhou army's side were caused by the encirclement and annihilation of Adari after entering the city. This was completely different from the traditional siege warfare where the greatest casualties were caused by climbing the city.

The main reason was that when the city was bombed, the defending general Adari deployed all the elite Eight Banners soldiers on the city wall just in case. The first wave of bombing killed at least four to five hundred people. When they broke into the gap, the most elite heavy armored troops of the Zhou army killed many of the panicked Eight Banners soldiers. But even so, the Zhou army suffered nearly three thousand casualties. The individual combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners soldiers was still not comparable to that of the ordinary Green Camp.

In this battle, the casualties of the heavy armored army were no more than a hundred people, and most of them were from Qian Biao and Bai Yongfu. If it were not for the Eight Banners soldiers who resisted stubbornly in this battle, otherwise, as long as the city wall collapsed and the army rushed in, they could have captured a strong city with no more than a hundred casualties.

One day, the news that Meng Jun had captured Cangzhou reached Dorgon, who was plotting and lurking. He seemed to be struck by lightning, and he was stunned and remained silent for a long time.

Dorgon stayed alone in the tent. He ordered his personal guards to block all the generals who came to see him. Several hours later, when it was dark, Dorgon summoned Suksaha.

In just a few hours, Dorgon seemed to have become much older, not only in appearance, but more importantly in spirit.

Dorgon said to Suksaha: "Meng Jun is advancing step by step. My Qing cavalry is useless. I'm afraid we can't defend the interior of the pass!"

Suksaha said unwillingly: "Regent, if there were no canal to supply the Meng bandits with military rations, how could we......"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Dorgon, who said, "What's the point of saying these useless words?"

Seeing this, Suksaha asked hesitantly, "Is the Regent going to withdraw to Liaodong?"

Dorgon sighed and said to Suksaha, "No need to hide your whereabouts. The Meng thieves have a powerful weapon to break the city. Cangzhou can be broken in one day. Once Cangzhou is lost, the capital is close at hand. Send people back to the capital and order the palace, various mansions, as well as the families of the Eight Banners and the bondservants to prepare to evacuate the capital!"

Suksaha followed the order and left the tent. After leaving, Suksaha said in an angry tone: "Adari is such a waste. He can't even hold on for a day. It's shameful."

Although Dorgon had ordered the Qing court to prepare for evacuation, he also had to contain Meng Jun's pace and leave enough time for the capital. On the one hand, Dorgon sent letters to various passes, ordering the garrison in Jizhou Town to dig up and destroy the border walls of Longjing Pass and Juyong Pass and close the gates. On the other hand, he sent letters to Hebei, preparing to relocate the people and enrich the area outside the pass.

Dorgon only received the news that Cangzhou City had been broken, but he was not clear about how it was broken. Some scattered news gave Dorgon a headache. Some of the news was contradictory and could not be regarded as credible information at all.

It was not until Gu Yanwu's lengthy article about the Zhou army's conquest of Cangzhou in one day was published in the newspaper that Dorgon learned the details of the fall of Cangzhou after he got the newspaper through someone else.

Although this newspaper inevitably praised Zhou's army and belittled the Qing army, the specific process was still quite realistic. However, when Dorgon saw the end, he was furious and almost fainted.

It turned out that the newspapers said that hundreds of Eight Banner soldiers had surrendered, all of whom had cut off their braids and tattooed their bodies, and submitted to Zhou's army. These hundreds of people were not important to Dorgon. What was important was that the Eight Banner soldiers had already shown a trend of surrendering in an organized manner on the battlefield, which was unforgivable to Dorgon and was also an extremely dangerous signal.

The Zhou army captured Cangzhou and continued along the canal to Tianjin, still building strongholds and fighting a stupid battle. Although the speed was indeed unbearably slow, Dorgon, who was on the side, really could not find any good opportunities.

Just as Meng Jun was moving peacefully along the capital every day, there was a Taoist standing on the bow of the grain ship that was transporting grain to the north from Nanjing.

This person was Li Wendao. When he heard that Meng Jun was going north to inspect Zhao Yongping's Northern Expedition Army, Li Wendao already understood in his heart that the king was a little hesitant and lacked confidence in directly attacking Beijing.

But since he heard that the king had stationed troops in Dezhou, Li Wendao knew that the king had made up his mind, so Li Wendao immediately planned to set off for the north.

There was another person on the same boat with Li Wendao, a chief of the Civil Affairs Department, who was in charge of the inventory and connection of grain and fodder. This person was none other than Lin Congxiao, who had come to Nanjing from Fujian in the past.

Along the way, Li Wendao and Lin Congxiao had a very pleasant conversation.

Lin Congxiao said excitedly: "Your Majesty's northern expedition this time will surely sweep the world and recover the northern capital!"

Li Wendao heard this and smiled without saying anything.

Lin Congxiao pointed to the river and said, "The world has been in turmoil for a long time, people's livelihood has been declining, and the country is in turmoil. Only when the king raises his arm and calls for the people to gather their will, can we feel the light of day now."

Li Wendao asked with a smile: "But the Ming court is still there. Once the King of Zhou seizes the northern capital, according to Maoren, will there be disputes between the Ming court and the King of Zhou in the future?"

Lin Congxiao responded passionately: "What the Taoist said hits the nail on the head. However, I have observed that the situation has changed and dynasties have changed. It is difficult to generalize the cause and effect cycle. Although the Ming Dynasty still exists, it is weak and declining. Moreover, during the Chongzhen period, the people in the north were full of resentment, and refugees rose up everywhere. Several emperors moved south, but no one wanted to rule. This shows that the Ming Dynasty has ended. Now King Zhou has great ambitions and plans to build the country and consolidate its foundation. It is the will of heaven to reform and innovate."

Li Wendao laughed and said, "What Maoren said is not the answer to my question. What I want to ask is whether there will be disputes in the future!"

Lin Congxiao hesitated for a while before saying, "It is not possible to establish a country by one person alone, and the same is true for the destruction of a country!"

Lin Congxiao's meaning was a little obscure, but Li Wendao certainly heard it. Lin Congxiao meant that there was no need to fight, the Ming court would perish on its own!

........................

Qing army camp.

Dorgon had been exhausted and had no spirit left. He was unwilling to give up and sent another letter of invitation to Meng Jun. However, this time, Meng Jun beheaded the Qing envoy and asked the Qing guards to report back to Dorgon. This was a courtesy.

The cavalry were supposed to gallop across the country, conduct raids thousands of miles away, charge into enemy lines, or harass logistics, but Dorgon was unable to do any of these things. It was as if he was acting as a bodyguard for Meng Jun, watching Meng Jun approach the capital step by step.

Just like the diary of a soldier in Zhou army, it explains the life of ordinary soldiers in Zhou army during those days.

On the 20th, the sun was shining brightly. We broke camp and moved wood. It was so tiring and hot.

On the 21st, the sun was out. We built the village and moved stones. It was so tiring.

On the 22nd, it was cloudy and we built a big camp. We saw the Tartars and felt a little nervous, but we didn't fight.

The 23rd, the sun, today I secretly wiped my booger on the shoes of the bad guy, I am happy.

On the 24th, it was drizzling and we broke camp. I had a great time being a patrol soldier today.

On the 25th, it rained heavily. We built a village and moved wood. Damn rain, I was unhappy!

………………

(I’m a little stuckπ_π)