Traveler Major League

Chapter 269 Liberating the Capital
In the Imperial Palace of Bauhinia City in the capital, the pale-faced Chongzhen sat on the dragon chair, retreating all the guards, maids and eunuchs. Only Wang Chengen's sharp voice echoed in the hall.

“The tide in the Ming Dynasty is forcing all levels of society to make choices.

The balance of class power in Ming Dynasty is at a new stage.

Large numbers of people broke free from their suffering and stood on the side of our camp, leaving the reactionaries isolated and helpless.

The closer the popular war of liberation comes to final victory, the more closely all popular alliances and their friends will unite and resolutely eliminate the reactionary forces.

In the second year of Chongzhen, the People's Army will march south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yellow River, and will achieve greater victory than now.

Thousands of years of feudal oppression must be overthrown through struggle.

This year is of great significance and we must work harder. "

Chongzhen shook his head and said softly: "No need to read it."

Wang Chengen, who was always paying attention to Chongzhen's reaction, immediately stopped and put away Liu Ze's public statement "Fight to the End" in his hand. The snow of military reports from various places this time was completely different from what the Ming Dynasty had experienced in the past two hundred years. In the past, even when Liaodong fell, the rebel army never came close to the capital, and the world was generally at peace. Since Liu Ze in Shaanxi made trouble more and more, in just one year when he left Tongguan in the east, he almost crippled the Ming Dynasty. Nearly half of the troops are available for field battles, and this time's statement even talks about marching into the capital to begin the decisive battle to liberate the entire Ming Dynasty.

Chongzhen closed his eyes tiredly. A few days ago, secret reports from various places reported that the People's Army soldiers were marching towards the capital in three groups, all the way from Shanxi to the People's Army Second Army. After the commander Li Cunbao captured Taiyuan, the more than 10,000 defenders did not even have a day and night. If they could hold on, the whole army would be wiped out. In early September, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, begged to surrender without fighting. Only the general of Xinzhou, Zhou Encountered Ji Ning, refused to surrender. He led the Biao battalion to retreat to Ningwuguan. There was no way to retreat, and he died fighting hard. His wife, Liu, led two women More than ten people climbed into the house and shot, killing all of them.

The bloody battle ended here, but the fierce resistance of these loyal generals did not stop the Second Army's front. After the forwards captured Juyong Pass (only a hundred miles away from the capital), the entire Shanxi Province had lost confidence in victory, and surrendered one after another. When it arrived, even Datong and Xuanfu, two hundred miles away that had not engaged in battle, submitted their surrender orders. After the 1st Battalion of the Second Army's Mobile Brigade arrived in Datong with off-road vehicles in one day and announced that agricultural taxes would be permanently exempted under the People's Alliance, " The whole city was in an uproar and everyone was happy, and they decorated the city with colorful decorations and burned incense to welcome it."

The other group, the First Army, which was said to be the most elite of the People's Army, was not as fast as the Second Army. After annihilating an army of more than 100,000 troops commanded by Yuan Chonghuan, it immediately divided its forces to attack surrounding cities and counties, heading north from the North China Plain, and waited until Datong and Xuanfu in Shanxi Province were captured. After the Second Army was captured, it began to send less than half of its troops north to Handan.

At this time, the benefits of the plains were revealed. After the Second Army captured Juyong Pass, the forwards of the First Army, which arrived first, had already captured Zhuozhou and entered Fangshan, which was only seventy miles away from the capital.

The third group headed north was the First Army Division and its newly formed troops, heading straight for Jinan, Shandong Province. The purpose was clear at a glance. They wanted to cross overland from north to south.

In other places unknown to the Capital Military News, the other two armies of the People's Army and their newly formed troops are attacking various places in other directions.

Of course, these military information are not important to the imperial court in the capital.

As the people's army approached, the entire capital was in turmoil. After most of the combatable troops in the capital camp followed Yuan Chonghuan southward and were destroyed, although the second year of Chongzhen had not experienced the plague that would have occurred more than ten years later, the military strength was still not sufficient. Now it is slightly insufficient to defend the city, let alone fight outside the city.

The three people's armies marched toward Beijing along different routes at the same time, forming a pincer offensive coordinated by the north and the south.

The strategy of this pincer offensive was to cut off most of the Ming Dynasty's central power's connections with the outside world and reduce the possibility of its escape.

By mid-September of the second year of Chongzhen, when the two large armies of the people's army, the north and the south, were close to rendezvous, that is, when the two ends of the pliers were about to close, the central government of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing was like a turtle in a urn, facing being wiped out by the rebels. fate, the only main force of the Liao soldiers became the hope of everyone in the capital.

"Chengen, has there been any news from Governor Liu of Jiliao and General Zhao?" Chongzhen asked with a tired look on his face.

Long before the fall of Ningwuguan, Chongzhen sent an order asking Liu Ce, governor of Jiliao, to send all combatable troops to the capital, and ordered Ningyuan's deputy commander Zu Dashou to assemble all field forces inside and outside Shanhaiguan to rescue the capital. The situation outside Shanhaiguan at this time was to To defend the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the Liao army was dispersed in various city fortresses and stationed on-site for supplies, with an average of thousands of soldiers at each location.

There was no rush to mobilize troops at the moment, so he could only send an order to gather the troops at Shanhaiguan, and then go to the capital one by one. As the Ministry of War urged official documents and imperial decrees to force troops to be dispatched, Zu Dashou had no choice but to wait four days. He led 20,000 infantry and cavalry to enter the pass first, followed by the soldiers and horses assembled in Shanhaiguan.

In addition, King Qin's edict has been sent to various places, but water from afar cannot quench the thirst of the near, so let's not mention it for now.

When Wang Chengen heard the question, he immediately went to the writing desk and picked out the Ministry of War report, and then said cautiously: "Your Majesty, the bandit armies from the north and the south have stationed troops fifty miles away and looted the countryside. They have not made any move for three days. Now they are near the capital. The only soldiers the imperial court can fight are the Liao soldiers commanded by Zu's deputy general."

"In order to pass the decree to the ancestor's birthday, he must be rushed to the capital day and night without any mistakes."

"According to the decree." Wang Chengen bowed down and said. The imperial decree urging him at least three times a day these days has made him a little numb. It was too late to mobilize the troops. No one expected that the people's army would be as quiet as a virgin and move as fast as a rabbit. There has never been a war so far. Which city can delay it for more than a day? Correspondingly, the Ming army traveled 600 miles from Shanhaiguan to the capital. They traveled day and night and now they have reached Jizhou, which is a full 200 miles away from the capital. Even if the infantry marches by force, It also takes three days to arrive.

But can the capital camp of the capital be defended for three days? The previous three days of standing still made many people feel lucky.

Chongzhen opened his eyes and looked at Wang Chengen, a trace of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he finally spoke, and his tone was not too harsh.

"Hold on!"

Facing the attack of the two armies of the People's Army, Chongzhen was also actively preparing for war. First, Sun Chengzong, who was in his seventies and had retired, was appointed as the commander-in-chief to be responsible for the defense of the Gyeonggi region. Although he was opposed by the former Minister of War, Wang Zaijin, Chongzhen finally decided to use Sun Chengzong.

Sun Chengzong was asked to rush to the capital from his hometown Gaoyang (today's Gaoyang, Hebei Province). Chongzhen quickly appointed him as Minister of the Ministry of War and Bachelor of Zhongji Palace to supervise military affairs, and sent him to Tongzhou to supervise the money and food of the troops.

At the same time, Chongzhen ordered his ancestor Dashou to quickly dispatch reinforcements from various towns and proceed with the camera.

Third, strengthen Beijing’s urban defense.

Emperor Chongzhen ordered officials in Beijing, relatives of the emperor, and meritorious generals to take their own servants to patrol and guard the city walls.

At the same time, eunuchs were also asked to guard the city and supervise the army to make up for the shortage.

However, in fact, the two groups of people's armies in the north and south did not completely stand still. Instead, they made tentative attacks and found that the Ming troops near the capital did not surrender as they imagined when they encountered Li Zicheng's army more than ten years later. There were some surrenders. There were also a large number of officers and soldiers who died fighting for their country, but almost none of the local magistrates and civil servants surrendered, and most of the city officials abandoned the city and fled. Only one or two out of ten people tried their best to defend the city and performed their duties, but it is enough to see that the people of the Ming Dynasty did not Collapse.

In order to avoid too many killings, and because the investigation revealed that the main force of the Ming Dynasty's Liao troops had already arrived, this was the reason why the vanguard of the people's army did not attack the city. However, it was not as rigid as Wang Chengen said, but to wait. The follow-up main force opened a large net, waiting for the Liao soldiers, the last Ming elite in the northern region.

Just three days later, fierce gunfire came from the east. At this time, the room in Huangji Palace was in panic. Chongzhen was so frightened that he ran to the door and looked to the east.

Half a day later, a young eunuch rushed over and handed Wang Chengen a letter. The envelope was covered with fire paint and the seal of the Ministry of War.

Wang Chengen took the letter, opened it in front of Chongzhen, and presented it to Chongzhen. Only then did he learn that the 4,000-horse infantry of the Liao soldiers who had just arrived in Tongzhou half a day ago were surrounded and annihilated by the people's army who had already ambushed them, and they escaped. There are very few.

Chongzhen glanced at the letter, his face a little ugly. After a long time, he raised his head and said to Wang Chengen: "How did you learn about the war?"

Wang Chengen whispered: "The news brought by the defeat of the more than 20 cavalry Liao troops commanded by Deputy General Liu Enfang has been checked."

"Liu Enfang!" Chongzhen looked uncertain. After a long time, he said softly: "Damn it!"

Wang Chengen leaned down slightly. Waiting for the emperor to continue speaking, Chongzhen stopped talking about Liu Enfang. Instead, he sighed, looked at Wang Chengen and said, "Four thousand elite soldiers only defended for half a day and then the whole army was wiped out?"

"There is also the army of Zu Zongbing."

However, the capital, which had been lucky, fell into a greater panic one day later. The main force of the Liao soldiers commanded by Zu Dashou was surrounded sixty miles east of Tongzhou and was wiped out overnight. The people's army occupied the ferry crossings of the Tongzhou Grand Canal and captured about A thousand ships and their baggage are countless.

On the second day, the People's Army finally arrived at the capital city and used the airship's loudspeaker to publicly shout into the city demanding surrender and promised:
Article 1: After the surrender of Chongzhen, the title will still be preserved. Taking into account his historical status, the People's Alliance will treat China's last emperor with the same courtesy, and his descendants will enjoy the treatment of citizens of the People's Alliance.

Article 2: After Chongzhen surrendered, he would provide his immediate family with 10 million yuan in Third World RMB per year for living expenses, which would remain unchanged for fifty years.

Article 3: After Chongzhen surrendered, he could temporarily live in palace confinement and later move to the Summer Palace, and his guards would remain as usual.

Article 4: After Chongzhen’s surrender, his ancestral temple and mausoleum will be enshrined forever and be carefully protected by guards at the discretion of the People’s Alliance.

Article 5: If the unfinished project of the original imperial mausoleum in Chongzhen is properly repaired, the enshrinement ceremony will still be the same as the old system, and all practical expenses will be paid by the People's Alliance.

Article 6: The various deacons previously employed in the palace can be retained as usual, but no more can be recruited in the future.

Article 7: The original private property of the imperial estate shall belong to the people of the whole country.

Article 8: The original Ming army in various places is stationed in various places, waiting for the people's army to take over; orders all civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty to obey and implement all declarations, orders and instructions issued under the authorization of the People's Alliance; orders the Ming officials in various places to immediately release All captives and internees of the Popular Alliance under its control; the power of the Ming Dynasty to rule the country will be unconditionally subordinate to the Popular Alliance.

Faced with these conditions, Chongzhen, who historically preferred death to surrender, hesitated. What he held in his hands were excerpts from the history of the Ming Dynasty (the history from the first year of Chongzhen's reign to the demise of the Southern Ming Dynasty) and the Museum of Third World History dropped along with the leaflets dropped by the airship. High-definition real-life photos, almost all of which are public information released by the Popular Alliance, in order to use them as ideological weapons to reduce resistance.

However, there was not much time left for Chongzhen to think. That night, a special brigade armed with modern weapons and equipment jointly organized by the First Army and the Second Army parachuted into Bauhinia City overnight. The tactics were almost the same as those used to capture Yuan Chonghuan at that time. However, there were more personnel and more advanced weapons and equipment, and they were able to capture Chongzhen and his queen Zhou with an extremely smooth anesthesia gun.

In this case, at dawn, the capital was declared liberated.

(End of this chapter)