I have a cornucopia

Chapter 195 The Princess is Fierce
When Yang Feng learned that Dorgon's real target was Jiangnan, he was already in Yongping City.

"It's careless!"

Yang Zhuguo said.

In the past few days, he has successively captured Lutai, Kaiping, Luanzhou, and Yongping, but in fact he did not encounter much resistance. There were only some people in this area who surrendered inside the Great Wall and were then incorporated into the Eight Banners, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled. The young and strong who could fight were also recruited to the front line by Dorgon.

After all, there are too many battlefields in my Qing Dynasty that need babies to fill in the lines.

A feint attack is needed on the Shandong battlefield.

Li Zicheng had a long front line to maintain.

Have to go south.

Of course, it is impossible to keep the young and strong people who can fight in the rear cities. Moreover, the most important thing for Dorgon now is food. When he cannot provide enough food, he can transfer these young and strong people to the battlefield to let them fight to support the war, which can also alleviate the food problem in the rear to the greatest extent. Therefore, the more this seemingly scarce situation is, the more Dorgon increases the scale of external attacks. This is the purpose. If he can grab it, it is of course the best. If he can't grab it, whether he dies in battle or fights to support the war in a relatively rich war zone, it is better than leaving a group of hungry young and strong people in the rear.

If they don't have enough food, they will rebel.

Of course, the old, weak, sick and disabled who were left behind and had no ability to rebel could not resist, but Yang Feng killed almost all the gentry in Tianjin, and the gentry in the cities along the way did not dare to stay.

Run away!
The Qing troops in Kaiping, Yongping, Luanzhou, and even Qian'an and Fengrun, which he had not yet attacked, including the local gentry, all fled in panic.

Yang Feng had a smooth journey.

Then the house was robbed.

But it cannot be considered as stealing, after all, the Qing army was not attacking Shandong.

Therefore, Dorgon was still very clear-headed. He knew that he could not jump into the trap set by Yang Feng. The lesson of Abatai last time was still very profound. At that time, it was still such a result. What's more, Shandong was now built as a solid fortress by Yang Feng. More importantly, the cost of attacking Shandong was extremely high, but the gains were limited. At least compared with going south, the gains from attacking Shandong were really much worse. After going south once, Dorgon's eyes were too high, and he no longer looked down on Shandong, a poor and arrogant place.

Even though he just took over the plate from Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong last time...

All the goods in Chengtian area are second-hand.

But the wealth of the local gentry still surprised him greatly.

If Chengtian is like this, let alone Jiangnan.

It can be said that the gentry in Jiangnan were shouting to him, "Come quickly, you are stupid and have a lot of money."

Who would gnaw on bones when there’s meat?
What's more, it's a bone so hard that it can break your teeth.

So he had actually planned this for a long time. Last time he deliberately sent Liu Liangchen to Fengyang just to go south again in winter. He would not dare to do so unless the Huai River froze. Even if there was the Linhuai Floating Bridge, it would be useless. Duoduo's death had proved that the floating bridge was unreliable. Before the Huai River froze enough for the cavalry to pass, he did not dare to take the risk.

"Shi Gebu died a worthy death."

Li Zhifang sighed.

Yang Zhuguo frowned and looked thoughtful.

It has to be said that Dorgon's move caught him off guard, and the situation is now very dangerous.

Shi Ge's troops had already been defeated in Fengyang, and he led 500 regiments in a bloody battle against thousands of Jianlu at Hongxinyi. In the end, his entire army was wiped out and he committed suicide for his country. His death is still very respectable.

The reason why the news of his martyrdom was known so quickly was that shortly after his death, Song Yingxing also passed through Hongxinyi with some of the dispersed Jiangxi militia, and the Qing army had no time to identify the dead bodies on the battlefield. After all, their goal was to pass Qingliu Pass as quickly as possible, and they just took away the militia's equipment and left the bodies there. Song Yingxing had been the governor of Bozhou after all, and was familiar with the Fengyang area. After being dispersed, he hid in a ditch with his men until dark, and then he came out to Hefei, and happened to pass by their battlefield.

He finally managed to escape to Dingyuan with the bodies of Shi Kefa and He Gang.

Yang Tinglin also fled to Dingyuan with his militia.

They and the Luzhou militia originally in Dingyuan withstood the first wave of attacks by the Qing army. After learning that another group of Qing troops had already headed towards Hefei, they immediately abandoned Dingyuan and fled south, but did not dare to go to Hefei, but went straight to Chaohu.

The Qing army then captured Hefei.

Of course, it was actually Gong Dingzi, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Qing Dynasty, who was from Hefei and personally persuaded them to surrender.

The latter surrendered to Li Zicheng in the capital, and then surrendered to Dorgon. Thanks to the favor of the Regent, he was promoted very quickly. In less than a year, he was promoted from a chief under Chongzhen to Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Qing Dynasty.

The future is bright!

Even Gu Hengbo, who followed him, received an imperial edict from the Qing Dynasty.

The other main Qing army, led by Ajige, successfully raided and broke through Qingliu Pass. However, they encountered Huang Degong, who had just escaped, in Chuzhou. Although it had not been captured when this urgent report was sent, it was probably captured at this time. Huang did not have the ability to turn the tide. This was a fact. So now the Qing army is not sure that they have already reached the Yangtze River, but there is a 70% chance. The rest is Huaiyang, and Yangzhou is under the jurisdiction of Gao Jie, the general of Huaiyang. He has already arrived in Yangzhou from Huai'an. Liu Zhaoji retreated from Fengyang to Xuyi, Zhang Guowei and Gao Jie went to Yangzhou together, and Zhu Dadian was in Huai'an, so the Huaiyang Group's reaction is still normal. If they can hold on, then even if Ajige takes Chuzhou, he will not dare to attack Nanjing rashly.

They are also quite strong.

Of course, it’s not Gao Jie, but the militia are all in Huaiyang.

And Ajige did not have enough boats to cross the river.

His goal should be to have the Qing army that captured Hefei continue southward to attack Chaohu Lake, and then collect boats upstream and go downstream. Although Chaohu Lake had been frozen at this time, the mouth of Yuxi River had not yet been frozen, and there were a large number of ships transporting supplies blocking the area.

So it depends on whether Yang Tinglin can defend Chaohu Lake.

This is very risky.

Yang Tinglin's moral integrity is certainly worthy of respect, but his level is just so-so, no better than Shi Kefa.

And even if the Qing army got the ships, they would still have to face the navy on the Yangtze River.

This is gratifying because the navy that had previously gathered on the Yangtze River is still there.

Including Zheng Sen's troops.

And they probably won't surrender.

After all, Zheng Hongkui, Wu Zhikui and Zheng Sen were all able to persist in resistance.

But there was also a very serious problem, that is, Shi Kefa's defeat left all the supplies stored in Fengyang to the Qing army. Food, cannons, and ammunition were all piled up like mountains, enough to support the Qing army's continued fighting in the future. The Qing army would not stop the attack due to shortage of supplies, so the key depended on whether Huaiyang could be defended.

As long as we hold on, Nanjing will be safe.

Go south for reinforcements?

Yang Feng had a serious look on his face.

"Fengsheng, we are too far away from each other. Even if we want to, we won't be able to make it in time. Moreover, the Yangtze River is a natural barrier. How can the Jianlu fly across it? There is no need to worry too much. Besides, the Jianlu use cavalry to move as fast as the wind. Now the roads north of the Huai River are smooth. It will only take a few days to turn from Fengyang to Xuzhou. Once reinforcements come south, the Jianlu will turn to Shandong, and Shandong will be in danger. Sarhu was defeated by them that year, so we must be on guard."

Li Zhifang said cautiously.

So what does he mean by saving money? It has no impact on Shandong.

In fact, what he said was right, because the Qing army was fighting by taking advantage of the time difference.

Yang Feng was indeed too late to rescue, but Jin Shenghuan of Xuzhou, Wang Zuntan of Caozhou, including Su Dunsheng who stayed in southern Shandong, and Cao Youyi who was arranged by Yang Feng in Haizhou could all go south to rescue. But the problem was that the Qing cavalry could also turn back, go north from Fengyang, cross the Yellow River flood area and go straight to Xuzhou. They were all cavalry, so they had enough time to use this tactic of playing with time difference. In the past, Sarhu was indeed defeated by the Qing cavalry using time difference.

and so……

"Send the order to the capital!"

Yang Feng said suddenly.

"What about Hauge?"

Du Li said.

Hauge was at Shanhaiguan and had been ordered to rush over to fight.

"If he really wanted to fight, he would have arrived by now. It only took the cavalry two days to get here from Shanhaiguan, but he hasn't seen a single soldier yet. That means he doesn't want to fight. Don't worry about him."

Yang Feng sneered.

Since Dorgon likes to steal homes, let’s steal each other’s homes!
The princess is not in too much danger, because he still has 500 followers in Nanjing. At most, he can escort the princess to escape from Nanjing. Besides, Jiangnan is not his territory. The elders of various places can do it themselves! Haven't they always wanted to unite with the enemy to suppress the bandits? Then give them a chance and see how they choose. Do they want to maintain the current life that they obviously like, or follow the foreign race to become serf owners like their ancestors did. As long as they want to resist, they will be enough to stop the Qing army. It is still shocking that the 500 regiments fought bloody battles until they were completely annihilated. It must be said that the gentry have grown very fast.

Dorgon probably wanted to threaten Nanjing to mobilize him to go south to reinforce and then attack Shandong.

This is very possible.

It's too easy for him to create time difference.

If Yang Feng doesn't come to the rescue, then we can just attack Nanjing directly. We can make a lot of money by taking Nanjing.

Therefore, no matter how Yang Feng responds, he will end up falling into the trap set by Dorgon. In this case, he will continue to play the extreme tug-of-war to see whether Dorgon is willing to give up the capital.

"Let's go, I'll lead you to reclaim the capital!"

Yang Feng then got on the camel and shouted to the followers around him.

The followers looked at each other...

"Let's go, follow Zhuguo and make a fortune!"

Then one of the followers raised his arms and shouted.

Then the followers roared excitedly.

Although this was an attack on the capital, they were unstoppable and had been completely driven by fanaticism, just like the government troops under Huang Fei before. They followed Yang Zhuguo to make a fortune. Even though it was such an incredible thing that only five or six thousand cavalrymen attacked the capital, Yang Zhuguo had never been defeated so far. Following an invincible commander, they dared to launch any incredible attack.

Isn't it just an attack on the capital? Could it be more incredible than his capture of Shenyang?
Du Li and Li Zhifang looked at each other, then they both smiled bitterly at the same time.

There is no point in opposing it at this time.

However, given the current situation, the defense of the capital must be empty. After all, the Qing army can only mobilize so many troops. The eight banners outside the Great Wall, even with the Mongolian vassals, are no more than 50,000 to 60,000 people. The number of people harassing and feinting in Shandong will not be less than 10,000, and the number of people confronting on the front line in Dezhou will not be less than 10,000. Ajige must have at least 20,000 people with him, and Hauge has some more. There are at most a few thousand in the capital. As for the eight banners who surrendered inside the Great Wall, there is no need to care about them. As long as they are allowed to surrender, they will not hesitate to change to a new master.

and so……

It's not impossible to win.

Of course, Yang Feng was not interested in caring about them. Yang Zhuguo, riding a camel, and his followers rushed to the city gate first. The equally fanatical followers behind him, accompanied by their knights, followed their invincible commander and rushed out of the devastated Yongping City.

At this time, in faraway Nanjing, on the newly built artillery platform on Lion Rock, Her Royal Highness the Princess Regent of the Ming Dynasty was already holding a telescope and watching the Qing army showing off its might on the north bank.

Huang Degong failed to hold Chuzhou after all.

Of course, it is normal that he cannot hold the city. Even though Huang Degong is the most reliable among the government troops, he was still defeated from Liaodong to Jiangnan. His strength can only fight against a few thousand Qing troops at most. Moreover, after the loss of Tian Xiong, Ma Degong and other troops, even this ability is difficult for him. How can he win when Ajige leads 30,000 Qing troops to attack?
His whereabouts are currently unknown, and he should not have surrendered. The most likely possibility is that he died in battle in Chuzhou.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. The Yangtze River is a natural barrier, and the Jian'er will not be able to cross it."

Ma Shiying comforted.

"Has this natural barrier ever stopped the northern enemy once in history?"

said the princess.

“This, this is still available.”

Prime Minister Ma had no choice but to say.

"Under the Buddhist temple, there is a group of crows and drums?"

The princess said coldly.

So even with her good temper, she was really angry this time.

Shi Kefa led an army of 200,000 men and besieged Fengyang for several months, spending countless money and food. Then he collapsed in the face of the Qing army and lost all the stockpiled supplies. Although he died for his country, he was the supreme commander of Jiangbei. How could his death solve the situation? Ajige captured Chuzhou because he brought all the hundreds of light red cannons seized from Fengyang to Chuzhou, and relied on sufficient ammunition to continuously bombard Huang Degong.

Suppress with firepower and then attack with force.

Can't you just take the armory when you run away?
At this moment, three large warships that stood out from the crowd suddenly headed north. Smoke filled the sides of the warships, and the Qing army that was showing off its might on the shore was thrown into chaos. The princess, who was holding a telescope, could even see the heavy artillery shells hitting the Qing army, causing people and horses to fall to the ground...

"Send the message to the whole city. Nandu is where the Xiaoling Mausoleum is located. Kunxing was ordered to supervise the country and should stay with this city. However, this is my Zhu family's business. It is my Zhu family's incompetence that has caused chaos in the world and caused the suffering of all people. Now that things have come to this, Kunxing does not want to force the people to die for my Zhu family. From today on, Chaoyang Gate will always be open. Soldiers and civilians in the city who want to leave are free to do so."

She said.

"Why did Your Highness say this?"

"Your Highness, you can't do that. Just hold on and the State will surely come south to rescue you."

……

A group of ministers on the city wall screamed.

"Gentlemen, there is no need to persuade them anymore. Both the military and civilians have done their duty to our Zhu family. Kunxing will no longer force them to die for the Zhu family."

said the princess.

Ma Shiying, who was lying on the ground, suddenly glanced at Yang Guanguang, who did not say anything. Although he knelt down like the other ministers and lowered his head as if he was giving advice to the princess, he actually did not say anything. Ma was stunned for a moment, and then turned his eyes to Liu Zongzhou, who was obviously anxious...

(End of this chapter)