Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Compared with the outer city and the inner city, the imperial city of 18 li in circumference is not big, but it is of great significance to the Qing Dynasty. Those who are qualified to live in the imperial city are not ordinary people. After the Qing army occupied Beijing, they drove the Han people in Beijing to the outer city; the inner city was divided into ordinary people of the Eight Banners; as for the imperial city, it was inhabited by royal relatives and dignitaries. Of course, in order to meet the normal life of the dignitaries, there are also various shops in the imperial city. These shops have backers, and the shopkeepers and clerks inside are basically the bondservants of the princes and beiles; as for the emperor, concubines, and princes, they live in the palace city. The guards fought to the foot of the imperial city, which meant that they were not far away from these nobles.

Upon learning of the fall of Zhengyang Gate, Emperor Shunzhi immediately ordered the inner city defenders to retreat to the imperial city. During the retreat, Ning Guli, the Left Censor-in-Chief, and Zhang Tianfu, the Commander-in-Chief of the Han Army of the Plain Yellow Banner, who were stationed at Anding Gate, were surrounded by the guards because they received the news late, and both died in battle. After counting the troops, there were only more than 70,000 troops left in the city. What was even more terrifying was that the continuous failures seriously affected the morale of the defenders. Not only the Beijing Camp, but even the Eight Banners of the Imperial Guard were filled with an atmosphere of failure.

Emperor Shunzhi once again summoned his important ministers to discuss matters, and asked everyone with a sullen face: "My Lords, the guards are coming with great force, and now even the inner city has been lost, but the reinforcements have not arrived yet. What can we do?" In fact, through the Thirteen Yamen that Wu Liangfu was in charge of, he already knew that the Governor-General of Zhili Miao Cheng and Grand Secretary Che Ke had successively led their troops into the capital to defend it and were defeated and killed. The so-called reinforcements that were delayed in arriving referred to the army led by General Anyuan Jingkou and Prince Xin Doni that was attacking Datong.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Prince Xin reported a few days ago that he had set out from Datong and will probably arrive soon," said Sony, the Grand Secretary and Minister of State, cautiously.

"Yes, Your Majesty, although the guards broke through the inner city, under your planning, we have already moved all the people of the Eight Banners, civil and military officials, and the families of the soldiers defending the city to the imperial city, and all the money and food supplies have been transferred to the palace city. The inner city is just an empty city, and temporarily giving it up will not have much impact on the war situation." Feng Quan, an old minister who had retired and was recalled to Beijing to assist in military affairs, also persuaded. This old man was very cunning. It was obvious that the inner city had been lost, but he said it was temporarily abandoned, and he also praised the emperor's planning.

After hearing this, Emperor Shunzhi looked much better and said slowly, "That being said, the loss of the inner city has a great impact on the morale of the army. What can we do?"

"I think that the emperor can go to the top of the city in person to reward the soldiers and boost morale," Feng Quan proposed an idea.

"Mr. Feng's plan is very good. However, it may not be enough for me to go to the city wall in person to reward the soldiers," Emperor Shunzhi continued with a frown.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The people in the imperial city are all bannermen. Their hearts are all with the Qing Dynasty. Although the morale of the army is shaken after repeated defeats, the families of the soldiers have all been moved to the imperial city. I don't think there will be any rebellion or surrender to the enemy. Please rest assured," said Ebilun, the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard and the Minister of State Council.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the reason why the outer city and the inner city were lost so quickly was related to the 40,000 Han civilians who were recruited. These civilians were not trained and were inevitably timid in battle. Once the guards landed on the city, they panicked and even fled and surrendered. Their families were all in the outer city, and they had no intention of fighting after the outer city was lost. When the guards attacked Zhengyang Gate, the 6,000 civilians who assisted in the defense knelt down and surrendered, resulting in the loss of Zhengyang Gate due to insufficient manpower. Now the guards in the imperial city are all regular soldiers and children of the Eight Banners. They are paid by the Qing Dynasty, so their hearts are naturally towards the Qing Dynasty. They have families to tie them up with, so although they are fewer in number, they are more loyal." Eshehei, the Grand Secretary of Baohedian, also spoke up to support Ebilun's statement. He put the responsibility for the loss of the outer city and the inner city on the recruited Han civilians, which well protected the face of the Manchu soldiers and attracted many praises.

"Even if the army's morale is still with the Qing Dynasty, the soldiers have no fighting spirit and are afraid of the guards like a tiger. How can we defend this city?" Emperor Shunzhi sighed. Indeed, since the fall of Zhengyang Gate, even the veteran Manchu general and Minister of War Ming Andali, who had made great achievements in the war, was killed in the battle. The morale of the defenders in the city plummeted, and many people suffered from fear of the guards and turned pale at the mention of the guards.

"I think that in order to boost morale, we must pay attention to the families of the soldiers," said Fan Wencheng, the former chief academician and councilor who had retired but was summoned to discuss military affairs.

"Oh, Mr. Fan, please speak," Emperor Shunzhi became excited.

"Cough~ cough~" After all, he was a 67-year-old man. Fan Wencheng coughed for a long time before continuing: "The families of the soldiers have all moved into the imperial city. You can order people to spread rumors everywhere, saying that the pseudo-Khan has ordered to massacre the city after it is broken and allow the guards to search for ten days. If the soldiers hear that their families' lives will be in danger after the city is broken, they will definitely fight to the death!" It is not a glorious thing for a dignified emperor to rely on fabricating rumors to boost the morale of the army. But the situation is stronger than people. At this juncture, Emperor Shunzhi had no choice but to agree. He slowly said: "Follow Mr. Fan's plan, I will send someone to do it."

"Since you want to boost military morale, why doesn't the emperor recruit the women of the Eight Banners to join the army?" A strong and powerful voice suddenly came from the hall, and the Empress Dowager Zhaosheng walked in calmly.

"Your servant pays homage to the Queen Mother~" "Your subject pays homage to the Queen Mother~" Everyone bowed hurriedly.

"You are all important ministers of the country, there is no need to be polite," Empress Dowager Zhaosheng smiled and asked everyone to stand up.

"Your Majesty, why are you here?" Emperor Shunzhi was surprised.

"The Qing Dynasty is in danger. The emperor and ministers are all busy with state affairs. How can I not come?" The Empress Dowager Zhaosheng said sternly, "What Scholar Fan said just now makes a lot of sense, but a few rumors are not enough. We must also organize the women of the Eight Banners who can fight into an army. Our Manchu women are not as weak as Han women. Many of them have practiced martial arts and hunting since childhood. They can be trained into an army to expand our military strength. When the soldiers see their women on the battlefield, they will be more likely to think of the miserable end of their families who were slaughtered after the city was broken. In order to protect their families, they will certainly fight to the death."

After these words were spoken, there was a silence in the hall. After a long while, everyone shouted, "The Queen Mother is wise~"

"What the Queen said is absolutely right. Manchu women are not only capable of taking care of their husbands and children, but also of riding a horse and drawing a bow. We can definitely recruit some of them to join the army to expand our military strength. Pass on my order to organize all the women of the Eight Banners between the ages of fifteen and fifty who can handle swords and guns into the army." Emperor Shunzhi agreed to his mother's suggestion, frowned and said viciously: "Tell the soldiers that this is a battle of life and death for our Qing Dynasty. If we win, the country will prosper, but if we lose, our family will be destroyed and our country will perish. As the king of a country, I swear to fight the Western Barbarians to the end, and I will not spare their lives after the city is captured. I am not afraid of death, and the soldiers should not pity their lives either!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will not spare my life. I swear to fight Xifan to the death!"

"I am willing to bring my whole family to the city to help defend it!"

"For the sake of the Qing dynasty, I am willing to die on the battlefield"...

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The emperor said he was not afraid of death, so his subjects naturally followed suit. The hall was filled with voices vowing to fight the guards to the bitter end. (End of this chapter)