Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 452: Troops at Shanhaiguan

History has countless possibilities. In history books, those influential figures are all made up of many factors. For example, if the First Emperor had lived ten more years, perhaps those people in Pei County would have been unknown in history. If Zhu Yuanzhang had eaten well in the temple, perhaps he would have become an enlightened monk.

Ability is a necessary but not a sufficient condition. Any person who can stir up the winds and waves of the times is the result of coincidence. As the old saying goes, if a man has lofty ambitions, he cannot achieve them without luck!

Meng Jun and Jiang Xiang attacked from both sides, and the Qing army retreated from the interior. Meng and Zhou unified the north. In this way, Zhou's army had occupied the north, southeast, and south of the Yangtze River, and Meng Jun's momentum to unify the world was set.

Several forces in the south have begun to worry that Meng Jun will march south in large numbers. Unification is a temptation that no force can refuse.

September 9th, the fourth year of the Yongli reign.

Zhao Yongping joined Jiang Xiang, with a total of more than 123,000 people. They approached Shanhaiguan with great momentum and smoke. When they stopped at the foot of the pass and looked at the majestic walls, Zhao Yongping could not help but exclaimed: "This pass is as solid as a rock, it is really a natural barrier. Wu Sangui opened the pass to let in the invaders, his crime is grave!"

Jiang Xiang was a little embarrassed, and after a while he said, "General Zhao, our army has a total of 120,000 troops this time, and the Qing army in Shanhaiguan has a maximum of 20,000 troops. Even if it is difficult to defeat, with so many of us and a large number of artillery, we can definitely capture Shanhaiguan."

Zhao Yongping smiled and said to Jiang Xiang, "General Jiang is right."

Then Zhao Yongping said with a serious face: "Pass the order, all troops set up camp."

On the wall, Ajige's face was livid. The enemies under the city were nearly ten times the number of the defenders. Looking down, he saw crowds of people as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight.

Although it was a hot day, Ajige felt a chill in his heart when facing the mighty Zhou army. Although Ajige was a reckless man, the gap in troop strength was so huge that even a blind man knew that the situation was not optimistic.

"Someone come!" Ajige shouted, "Strengthen the city defenses, patrol day and night, and don't let any negligence creep in!"

The defenders of the city responded quickly. The soldiers on the city wall had already drawn their bows and were ready to fire. The top of the city was littered with arrows, rolling logs, and rocks. All the defense materials were being transported in an orderly manner.

Looking at Zhao Yongping's banner at the foot of the pass, Ajige said indignantly: "This unknown person actually trapped me in the city."

Upon hearing this, Haninga said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, I see that they are setting up camp under the city. Why don't I lead a team of cavalry to attack the camp? Maybe we can defeat the bandits in one fell swoop!"

Ajige carefully observed the Zhou army under the city. After a long while, he slowly shook his head and said in a deep voice: "The enemy army has left defensive troops on both wings. Moreover, there are war horses neighing in the southeast direction. It should be the rebellious Mongolian Tatar cavalry. It is not worth the loss if they go out of the city to attack the camp."

Then Ajige quickly issued an order: "Close the city gates tightly, guard the city strictly, and do not act rashly. Send people to Shengjing for help immediately, and tell Jirgalang that I can only hold Shanhaiguan for one month!"

On the wall, the atmosphere became increasingly solemn. Everyone knew that a war was about to break out. Shanhaiguan, as a key fortress connecting the inside and outside of the pass, would become the focus of contention between the two sides.

This is because the main defense direction of Shanhaiguan is outside the pass. If the attack is made from outside the pass, it will be even more difficult to break through because of the city walls and passes.

Until night fell, when the stars and the moon shone together, the two forces quietly confronted each other inside and outside Shanhaiguan, waiting for the war to come.

………………

Shengjing City.

In Shengjing City, many Eight Banners families began to gradually settle down in Shengjing City. Jirgalang and Fan Wencheng strolled in Shengjing City, chatting as they walked.

Whenever Jirgalang thought of the majesty of the Eight Banners soldiers when they entered the Pass, and saw the panic-stricken looks of the Eight Banners families on the streets, he would sigh.

Jirgalang turned to Fan Wencheng and said, "Master Fan, even though the Qing Dynasty has withdrawn to the outside of the Great Wall, Meng Jun still doesn't want to let the Qing Dynasty go. Ajige has sent people to ask for help. Zhao Yongping, a subordinate of Meng Jun, led an army of more than 100,000 people to Shanhaiguan. It is estimated that the battle of Shanhaiguan has already begun at this time. But I am really worried now. I don't know whether I should rush to help Ajige?"

Fan Wencheng was unsure, but he still comforted Jirgalang, saying, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Qing Dynasty has already retreated to the outer border. Meng Jun cannot destroy the Qing Dynasty. Throughout the dynasties, it was extremely difficult for the Central Plains dynasties to conquer the countries that rose up outside the border. The Sui Dynasty was able to mobilize a million troops, but it was unable to destroy Goguryeo.

Even the mighty Tang Dynasty had to fight several wars before it finally conquered Goguryeo. Now Meng Jun has not yet pacified the interior of the country. There is Wu Sangui in Shaanxi, Li Chengdong in Guangdong, and Zheng Sen in Fujian. Meng Jun will definitely not be able to defeat the Qing Dynasty in a short period of time."

After hearing what he said, Jierhalang felt a little relieved and said casually, "After listening to Master Fan's words, I feel a little relieved. However, according to Master Fan's opinion, should I send troops to help in the battle of Shanhaiguan?"

Fan Wencheng hesitated for a while before saying, "It depends on whether the prince still has the ambition to enter the pass. If so, we should go all out to support the king. If not, we can directly withdraw from Shanhaiguan and defend the Liaoxi Corridor!"

Jirgalang was already old, and it would be a lie to say that he did not have the ambition of Dorgon to lead the Eight Banners to re-enter the Pass. It was just that Jirgalang understood that the Qing Dynasty today was no longer the Qing Dynasty when it first entered the Pass, and entering the Pass again was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

The Qing army fought many wars inside the Great Wall. In fact, except for the battle with Meng Jun, the Eight Banners did not suffer too many casualties.

Only in the war against Meng Zhou did the Qing Dynasty suffer successive defeats and heavy losses in troops, among which the Han army suffered even greater losses. However, the Qing court still occupied most of the Central Plains at that time, so with its large population base, it could slowly recover its military strength as long as it had enough time.

However, the Eight Banners had a small population base and were difficult to replenish after losses. As a result, the banner's organization was reduced and its combat effectiveness had seriously declined. Many children, ranging from those aged 50 or 60 to those aged 13 or 14, had been incorporated into the banners.

By now, there were only 30,000 people left in the Eight Banners. In order to control Korea, Bolo transferred 5,800 banners and 10,000 Mongolian cavalry. Ajige stationed 4,800 banners and 10,000 Han troops in Shanhaiguan. At this time, there were only 28,000 banners, 6,000 Han troops and more than 3,000 Mongolian cavalry left in Shengjing City.

Moreover, with the failure of the Qing court within the Great Wall, the Mongolian tribes had become increasingly unstable. The title of Regent Prince Jirgalang was just a nice-sounding title. In reality, the Qing Dynasty was now riddled with contradictions, both internally and externally, and between Han and Manchu officials, and even among the princes.

After listening to Fan Wencheng's words, Jirgalang did not say anything. He just looked at the sunset in the distance and sighed deeply!