Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 238 Daling River reappears?
Chongzhen took a deep breath and boarded another boat. "Father, please follow them back to Beijing. I have some official business to attend to and need to go to Liaodong first."

But King Xiang just shook his head and asked, "Why did you come to the capital? Why should I listen to you?"

When did his son become a prince?
"No wonder... Now I understand everything. I was wondering why Lao Han was so positive. I asked your mother back then: You are so white and don't look like me, why was I so stupid?"

"Not to mention that your mother is also from the capital, maybe back then..."

The key point is that Zhu Changgan’s mother has passed away.

It is impossible to verify it further.

Chongzhen tugged at his hair and said, "Father, you are just overthinking. How old is the current emperor to have a son as old as me?"

Prince Xiang frowned and pounded his hands and feet. "Oh, that's right. The emperor is not very old. Logically speaking, it's impossible for him to have a son."

Although it was not uncommon for people in ancient times to have children at the age of twelve or thirteen, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is only twenty-nine years old now.

Nineteen years ago, I was only ten years old.

It is impossible, absolutely impossible, to give birth to a son at the age of ten.

Even if you mature early, you won't be able to have children at that time.

King Xiang stood up at once and looked him up and down, left and right. "I was saying, how could my big son belong to someone else?"

"Is it easy for your father?" Prince Xiang hugged Chongzhen and cried, "Son, you are my only promising son. How could I be ungrateful?"

She cried so hard that her nose was running, but King Xiang was completely unaware.

Chongzhen wiped it for him and said, "Dad, you should follow the Jinyiwei back to Beijing first."

"how about you?"

"Now I am the General who Suppresses the Enemy, and I will lead Sun Kewang, Shi Daoshen and others northward."

"Can't you just go?"

Chongzhen shook his head. The reason why Sun Kewang, Shi Daoshen, Li Dingguo and others were recruited was that he continued to be their leader.

No matter whether they are relatives of the Ming Dynasty or princes, his identity is an insurance for them.

If they left, it was hard to imagine what they would think and how the government troops would treat them.
"Shall we let Father go with you?"

Chongzhen shook his head, "How can a son let his father stand under the dangerous wall again?"

"..." King Xiang sighed, "Father knows that following you is a burden. Not only can I not help you, but I also make you worry."

"Father, that's not what I meant."

King Xiang waved his hand and said, "No need to say anything. Your father will go to the capital right away."

As he said this, he jumped onto the official boat of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. His old eyes were red and he wiped away a tear secretly.

"Father..." Chongzhen looked at Prince Xiang's hunched back, his nose suddenly felt sore, and he called out this name from the bottom of his heart.

Along the way, the long-lost fatherly love he felt from the other person deeply moistened his dry and resentful heart.

"Son, I have high hopes for you. The lineage of our Xiang Wang rests on your shoulders." Xiang Wang did not look back, but raised his hand and shouted, "This is your first time away from me, so be sure to protect yourself."

"Go, go quickly..."

He gave orders to the Royal Guards, fearing that he would regret it if he stayed any longer.

"That...that Hong Niang, after all, you married her. As long as it's not excessive, don't kill her if you can. Otherwise, it's not good to be known as a wife-killer."

"besides……"

The sound was raised and lowered by the wind from the canal, but it made Chongzhen's eyes wet.

……

On the other boat, Hong Niangzi also heard it vaguely. Although she was still feeling very uncomfortable, she couldn't help but look through the window towards the boat where Prince Xiang disappeared. Then she looked up at Zhu Yonggan.

It's not like she hasn't met many outstanding men over the years, but the one she has the deepest ties with is undoubtedly the man in front of her.

I used to think he was very powerful, but later I discovered that he was cold-blooded, cunning and scheming, and his hands were stained with the blood of gentry and rebels.

But now...she discovered her weak side.

Due to health problems, I cannot leave for the time being, but facing this person in front of me, I don’t know how to get along with him.

What confused her most was that she didn't know where to go.
Most of the rebels who had followed him at the beginning have now returned to their hometowns to make a living, and only a very small number have joined the Ming court's army.

All persistence and goals disappeared.

……

As for Chongzhen, he was also a little hesitant about Hongniang.

After all, when I was in the palace, whether it was my wedding or the later marriage, everything was extremely easy, and I started to cultivate feelings after marriage.

We didn't even know each other before the wedding, so how could we have a bond?

But it was different with Hongniang. Many things happened between the two of them in the past few months, which made Chongzhen think more about human emotions.

He thought about killing Hong Niangzi, but when the matter really came to hand, he found that he couldn't do it after all.

At this moment, this matter finally fell on his head again...

Chongzhen was stunned for a while when he returned to the boat, but finally stopped and returned to his boat again.

"Hey~" Sun Kewang and Shi Daoshen looked at them anxiously, "Prince Xin is such a great man, how could he be stumped by a woman?"

"You don't know this, right? This woman is not ordinary..."

……

Jinzhou, Liaodong

Since Yuan Chonghuan's death, Zu Dashou has been the center of the Ming army in Liaodong. When he heard the imperial edict from the Jinyiwei, he could not help but get angry:
"What? You want me to hold out for a month? What do you think, Your Majesty? Do you want to see the Battle of Dalinghe happen again?"

In the Battle of Dalinghhe, Huang Taiji surrounded the city of Dalinghhe with only 6 elite troops and 40 cannons.

At that time, Zu Dashou's military strength was similar to that of today, with a total of 25,000 soldiers and civilians. Naturally, he did not dare to fight against Huang Taiji and could only choose to hold on and wait for help.

Huang Taiji was determined to win, so he surrounded the city and waited for an opportunity to attack the Ming army's reinforcements.

The Ming Dynasty did send reinforcements, and the number was not small, about 4 people, but they were all annihilated.

In the end, all the food in the city was eaten up and people began to eat each other.

Now that the emperor asked him to hold on again, how could he not be angry?

"Don't worry, General Zu. I have brought 20,000 dan of grain with me. We are only 30 miles away from Jinzhou, and reinforcements will arrive soon... All five camps will be dispatched this time, leaving only 30,000 people in Kyoto. The rest will gather in Tongzhou and then march to Liaodong together."

"That's good, that's good..." Zu Dashou finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, but he was still worried and said, "You should explain the current situation to His Majesty. This time, the Qing army came out in full force. When they arrived at Dalinghe City, there were only 60,000 soldiers, but now there are 100,000 soldiers."

This offensive is unique.

In just seven days, the Qing army had launched five offensives.

The outer city of Jinzhou was almost lost in the last attack. How could he not panic? "It's still a long time for the five battalions to arrive, but they are closer than they are far away. Why don't they send out troops?"

"The reason is simple. Your Majesty is aware of Dorgon's tactics of besieging a point and attacking its reinforcements, so we will not allow the tragedy of Daling River to happen again. Before the five battalions arrive, we must avoid a field battle with the Qing army and use our cities and logistics to hold back Dorgon."

……

Outside Jinzhou City, in the central tent, there were several large iron basins in the middle, with charcoal fire blazing like fire, and the surrounding furs, swords and guns made the atmosphere solemn and majestic.

Dorgon stared at Yuetuo, Tan Tai, Ganglin from the National History Institute, Gong Adai, Xihan, Baiyintu and others below, who were talking to each other in a low voice, and some were communicating with their expressions.

Because of the defeat on the battlefield.

"It's been seven days, and there are less than 30,000 people in Jinzhou City. Why can't we take it down?" Dorgon asked everyone with a frown.

"We have already suffered tens of thousands of casualties, but the Ming court's fortresses are strong and their artillery is powerful..."

During the reign of Huang Taiji, he had thought about capturing Jinzhou.

It’s not that it’s impossible to conquer, but it will come at a huge cost.

"I don't care!" Dorgon gritted his teeth, "The five battalions have begun to gather in Tongzhou. We don't have much time. Once the five battalions of the Ming court arrive, it will be the Qing Dynasty that will be in the passive position." Dorgon slammed the letter in his hand on the table.

Although the Ming Dynasty had been cleaning up traitors, it was not so easy to cover up such a major event as the Ming Dynasty's troop deployment. The escaped soldiers who had previously defected to the Qing Dynasty continued to pass on information to Liaodong for their own interests.

"No matter how much it costs, we must take Jinzhou City within ten days. If you fail, you will be beheaded."

"King Zhishun's Tianzhu Army's Firearms Battalion has also arrived. Use all the artillery."

"Hoo!" After Shang Kexi reorganized the original firearms battalion, the Tianzhu Army under his name grew stronger. Coupled with the experiment with granular gunpowder, the combat effectiveness of his men also greatly improved compared to before.

……

October 8th
Snow had already started to fall in Liaodong. Shang Kexi took a telescope and looked up at the city defenses of Jinzhou City.

At this moment, the Qing army was densely packed under Jinzhou City, like weeds. Some of them held ladders, some held bows and arrows, and they stared at Jinzhou City with eager eyes.

"Prince Zhishun, Yuetuo Beile and his men are ready, just waiting for your artillery to clear the way."

"it is good!"

The moat under Jinzhou City had begun to freeze, and it was impossible to move when you stepped on it. This was one of the reasons why the Qing Dynasty chose to launch the attack in winter.

Attacking a city with or without a moat are two completely different levels of difficulty.

Among them, Xiangyang City River is the largest, with an average width of more than 180 meters and the widest point reaching more than 250 meters.

Even in Jinzhou City, there was a moat several meters wide outside. Just crossing the moat was a tough battle. The only way was to fill it up with lives. Only when it was filled up could they reach the city wall and attack the city.

The current ice age is a huge benefit to the Qing army.

Shang Kexi waved the signal flag in his hand vigorously.

"put!"

"Put it back!"

"Boom boom boom~~~"

The Qing camp fired first, and black shells hit the Jinzhou city walls like hail.

The Qing Dynasty's elixirs were all solid bullets, which hit the city walls, instantly stirring up rubble, bricks, dust... and blood and flesh.

"Seek cover!" Zu Dashou's son Zu Zepu, who was guarding the city, put his head into the sandbags and exclaimed, "The enemy's artillery can actually fire so far?"

The captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard suggested to Zu Dashou that they set up a sandbag shelter on the city wall, which now seems to have played a huge role.

Solid bullets kill by hitting others. The harder they hit, the more difficult it is to offset the impact force. They will bounce back again and hit people, causing either death or disability.

On the other hand, when a solid bullet falls on a sandbag, it hardly bounces back.

There was a panic in Jinzhou City. They were shocked and angry. Before this, the Qing Dynasty's artillery fire could never reach the city wall, but now the enemy's artillery could hit the wall directly from outside the moat.

This shows that the Qing Dynasty's artillery was also improving.

"Hurry, everyone, get up, and get the artillery ready." Zu Zepu also looked outside the city with a telescope, and happened to see Shang Kexi with his golden rat-tail braid.

The armor and flags of the Eight Banners soldiers are completely different from those of the Mongolian soldiers, Korean soldiers, and Han soldiers, which can be seen at a glance.

"Fuck, you second Tartar, you don't even care about your ancestors, beat me up!"

Zu Zepu hated traitors more than the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. Over the years, he killed many more Tatars than the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing Dynasty.

Zu Zepu raised his thumb, measured the distance, and shouted vigorously: "Fire!"

"fire!"

"Boom...boom...boom..."

On the city wall, the bricks and stones were shaking, and the red cannons were roaring, making a deafening sound.

The rising thick smoke enveloped the city wall. Looking from below, only the vague shadows of a few cannons could be seen. Dozens of artillery shells roared and smashed into the Qing camp.

In an instant, a cloud of mud, flesh and blood was stirred up, leaving streaks of blood.

In the Tianzhu Army, several artillery pieces were knocked over. Two Tartars who were cleaning the gun barrels were directly crushed underneath them, with blood coming out of their mouths and noses. Two Wuzhen Chaohas who were carrying ammunition were also knocked away by the shells.

The shell finally hit a cannon next door.

The cannon was smashed and turned in a different direction, but the fuse had already been lit.

The more than ten-pound shells roared out, plowing a bloody path among their own people.

This scene made the "Wu Zhen Chao Ha" in the Tianzhu Army's scalps tighten, cold sweats broke out, and their Adam's apples rolled, "Gudu!"

boom! boom! boom……

The incessant roar of artillery from both sides created an earth-shaking noise.

But after all, the Qing Dynasty had more troops and artillery, and wave after wave of solid iron balls poured down on the walls of Jinzhou like locusts.

Bricks, smoke, and blood continued to consume the lives of the soldiers defending the city.

The lookouts and gun ports on the city wall were visibly collapsed one by one. A guerrilla general, with blood flowing from his head, shouted in fear: "General, I'm afraid we can't hold on."

"They have made a huge investment and are willing to sacrifice their lives to capture Jinzhou City at all costs."

Zu Zepu was also stunned for a moment, feeling something was wrong. Standing on the city wall and looking down, he could see everything clearly. The Qing Dynasty had invested so many artillery, and it seemed that they were determined.

He gritted his teeth and said, "It's meaningless to resist head-on. Let's hide in the bunkers. When they attack the city, we will come over. If they use artillery, we will retreat."

Not long after they withdrew, the sound of Tatar artillery roared again.

It fell like raindrops on the position where Zu Zepu and his men were.

Round after round...

Shang Kexi fired six rounds of artillery fire, completely flattening the lookout on the outer city wall before he stopped.

"Come on!"

"Kill~"

The Korean and Han soldiers were in the front, followed by the Mongolian soldiers, and the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were at the end, and they began to attack the city again.

……

ps: I felt really uncomfortable yesterday, and the new volume was a bit stuck, so please forgive me.

(End of this chapter)