Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 239 Coming from Juehua Island?

When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance.

After the Qing camp suffered thousands of casualties again, Dorgon finally became furious and said, "Blast the city gates for me. Blast them open for me."

"Go, send some more people to support the baggage train, pull the General Tianzhu Cannon and the General Shenwei Cannon over here, and fire them!" Shang Kexi shouted angrily.

These two types of cannons were heavy cannons made by the Later Jin Dynasty imitating the Ming Dynasty's red cannons.

The shells weighed twice as much, at fifteen or twenty pounds.

It has a long range and great power, but because of this, it is extremely inconvenient to transport. Their vanguard troops had arrived two days ago, but the heavy artillery was still on the way fifty miles away.

When Kong Youde defected, he was unable to take these heavy artillery with him, and all that was left behind went to Shang Kexi.

Originally, it was thought that this thing would never be used at all. After all, during the several times the Qing army entered the pass, the artillery units of Kong Youde's Tianzhu Army followed the Eight Banners Army in capturing cities and territories, and no one could stop them.

Their artillery is even better than the original.

Even the Ming army's own artillery was not as powerful as that of the Later Jin, but it seemed that they really had to do without it at the moment.

……

It was not until dark that the Qing army's follow-up artillery finally arrived.

Boom! ~Boom!~
They began to pour artillery shells on the walls of Jinzhou.

The solid bubble hit the city wall, causing an earthquake. Even the sand, bunkers and other things that had been piled up before could not stop it and were smashed away.

The bricks on the city wall were shattered by the bombardment, causing heavy casualties again.

From time to time, soldiers fell to the ground or were hit by bouncing shells.

A Ming soldier covered his stomach and screamed heart-wrenchingly. His body shook with every breath. His intestines, flesh and blood were smashed out, with the flesh still on top... After just a few breaths, he fell silent.

The city walls were littered with shattered corpses.

Not only that, the outer city gate of Jinzhou City was blown down and two large holes in the outer city wall collapsed.

Dozens of soldiers fell from above.

Wu Zhenchao and others were very excited.

"Good...well done, granular gunpowder is indeed more powerful than before." Yue Tuo was very excited as he looked at the hole that was blasted open.

After so many days, they finally saw the opportunity to break the city.

"Let the Korean, Han and Mongolian soldiers charge forward again!"

Siege warfare has always been a grindstone, and the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty would only appear at the most critical moment...

……

Dorgon, the commander of the Qing army, nodded while holding a telescope. "Shang Kexi is much better than Kong Youde."

"Your Majesty is extremely blessed. He will surely be able to capture Jinzhou in one fell swoop and take Shanhaiguan." He Luohui said hurriedly.

This man was once deeply trusted by Hauge, but now he has become a staunch supporter of Dorgon.

Seeing him like this, Tan Tai and Leng Sengji also said: "Your Majesty is far-sighted. Jinzhou City will definitely be captured within two days."

Dorgon sighed, "If the Ming court hadn't been developing so rapidly, I wouldn't have been so anxious. Take this telescope for example. I heard that the Ming court had one for every general officer and every small officer, while we in the Qing Dynasty only captured one after capturing a group of scouts?"

"Your Majesty, I have taken this thing apart and looked at it. The structure is extremely simple, but... there is a huge gap in the manufacturing process." Man Dahai stood up with a bitter face.

The Manchus knew that this was just a convex mirror and a concave mirror. Some of them knew how to make colored glaze, but they could not make such clear and transparent glass.

As a result, two months passed and the army was still unable to be equipped.

Boom boom boom~~
Thick smoke rose from the Tartar artillery positions, but the outer city of Jinzhou could not bear the heavy burden and was covered with scars.

Zu Zepu gritted his teeth and said, "Damn the second Tartars, they actually have such heavy artillery. If you have the guts, fight me with swords and guns?"

In the past, they had fought artillery battles with the Tatars on the city walls, enjoying an advantage over the enemy. But now they were suppressed. How could they not feel aggrieved?

Not only was they unable to defeat the enemy in the crucial field battle, not to mention the resentment and pain in their hearts.

"The Qing army has attacked the city wall!"

"Kill me!"

However, it was the Manchu Tartars who took advantage of the collapsed city gates and openings to rush in. Zu Zepu drew out the big knife in his hand with a hoarse throat and fought with the Tartars.

We finally managed to defeat the second group of Tartars.

Shells rained down again, and the wall was shaken by the solid balls, as if it would collapse at the next moment.

Everyone was horrified.

Then the Manchu Tartars attacked again... and were beaten back again.

But the losses of the defenders of Jinzhou were too great, and their numbers were continuously being depleted, just like water plants in the water being constantly washed away by a flood.

A twenty-pound artillery shell landed beside Zu Zepu, bounced again, and hit him.

"General?"

"General?"

A guerrilla general under Zu Zepu was about to rush over to help Zu Zepu up, but he saw him stand up unsteadily, "I... I'm fine."

"Defend the city!" Zu Zepu roared, but found that he could not lift his left shoulder. He knew without thinking that his arm was broken.

"Your Majesty has lived up to his ancestors, so how can I betray Your Majesty?" He swung the big knife in his hand with his right hand, which he could lift, and kept slashing at the Tartars.

Zu Zepu is the eldest son of Zu Dashou. After Zu Dashou made the first contribution in the Zunyong victory, he became the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard with the help of his father, and was later promoted to the left general.

Originally, it was impossible for someone like him to return to Liaodong, because the emperor must have a "hostage" in his hand. Otherwise, how could he safely hand over such an important city as Guanningjin to someone who had betrayed the Ming Dynasty?

Six years ago, during the Battle of Dalingh River, Zu's family surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and his family members were also detained as hostages in the Qing army camp.

But even in this situation, His Majesty let me go back?

And gave himself the title of deputy general.

Deeply influenced by his father since childhood, Zu Zepu, who was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, would rather die than surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Facing the Manchu Tartars who were like locusts, he was not afraid. "Kill! Send those two Tartar dogs to see the King of Hell."

……

Yue Tuo saw that the battle was almost over, and with a look of ecstasy he gave the order: "The Eight Banners Army attack."

"Attack!"

"Du~~"

The sound of horns resounded throughout the battlefield.

The Eight Banners soldiers rushed forward with their teeth bared like wild beasts. These Manchu people lived in a bitter and cold land, and made a living by fishing and hunting since childhood. They had learned to ride horses and hunt since childhood, had strong physique, and were all excellent archers.

Moreover, at the turn of autumn and winter, each tribe would organize large-scale collective hunting, which would further enhance their field mobilization capabilities.

After Nurhaci, the Eight Banners were first created, forming a complete military system. In peacetime, they were civilians, but in wartime, they became an army. They were well-organized, quickly assembled and mobilized, and had a strong mobilization ability. "When marching, if the land is wide, the Eight Banners are arranged side by side, the troops are neat and orderly, and there is a rhythm. If the land is narrow, the Eight Banners are combined into one road, and the rhythm is not disordered. Soldiers are forbidden to make noises, and the ranks are forbidden to be chaotic. When the weapons come into contact, those wearing heavy armor and holding sharp swords are ordered to be the vanguard, and those wearing short armor and good at shooting are ordered to charge from the back."

This is why the Eight Banners Army is so powerful.

The black Eight Banners soldiers poured into the battlefield like a flood and quickly submerged the outer city of Jinzhou.

At this moment... the roar of cannons suddenly resounded throughout the sky.

The shells fell from the sky and landed in Shang Kexi's artillery camp.

There was a huge bang.

Rumble~
……

The shells knocked over the artillery pieces to the ground, and some of the shells hit the ammunition trucks at the artillery positions directly.

There is gunpowder and solid bullets on it.

Boom~
The earth shook violently, and in the eyes of everyone... the huge and heavy artillery such as the Shenwei Cannon was blown away, and then fell heavily again, crushing a group of Tartar corpses.

It's not a solid bullet, otherwise how could it ignite the gunpowder and cause the ammunition truck to explode?
"Isn't this... a solid bullet?" Shang Kexi's eyes widened.

He turned his head sharply and looked behind him, "Have the troops from the five camps of the Ming court arrived?"

He had only seen non-solid bullets when fighting against the five major battalions.

Didn’t they say that the five major camps would not be able to arrive within half a month?
The artillerymen of the Tianzhu Army were also blinded. The shells did not fire out, but exploded directly in the crowd. What was the point of firing?
"Boom boom boom..."

"No~" Shang Kexi watched helplessly as one ammunition truck after another was blown into the sky.

At the same time, it also took away many of its own lives.

It was only because his lieutenant general was quick to tackle him that he was not blown up by the gunpowder. Even so, he was still shocked and foamed at the mouth, "Ah, my God-helping army!"

How did he become the first Han prince of the Qing Dynasty? It was all because of the Tianzhu Army and these artillery. This was his real capital. Huang Taiji needed him, and Dorgon needed him as well.

How come the situation was going well and suddenly turned out like this?
He stared blankly at his Tianzhu Army and his artillery, then spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.

The Qing Dynasty's ammunition trucks contained not only gunpowder but also solid shells. At this moment, the gunpowder exploded and was blasted all around.

The entire artillery position of the Tianzhu Army instantly turned into a Shura hell.

There was blood and flesh flying everywhere, and corpses lying on the ground.

An inexplicable fear instantly struck the hearts of Wu Zhenchaoha and his men. They could no longer endure this tragic scene and ran madly into the distance. Their running also triggered a battle on the Jinzhou city wall.

Seeing this, the Korean and Han soldiers also ran away.

The defenders in Jinzhou city were greatly encouraged by the situation and started fighting the Manchus like crazy.

"Reinforcements are coming!" Zu Dashou also took the opportunity to bring his son back with his men, and ordered, "All soldiers enter the inner city and use static to counter dynamic."

……

"How could this happen?" Dorgon looked through the telescope at the soldiers who suddenly appeared in the distance and angrily cursed, "Who are they?"

"Your Majesty, they seem to be... the Ming army stationed in Korea!"

"North Korea?"

"Where are they coming from? Didn't we arrange for Dudu to block their path?"

"..." He Luo was speechless and couldn't say anything.

Dorgon's eyes narrowed suddenly, "Could it be... Huajue Island?"

"If they come from the sea, there won't be too many people. I am willing to fight them with the Red Banner!" Tan Tai suddenly stood up and asked for a fight.

……

Huang Degong looked through the telescope at the smoke rising from the Qing artillery positions in the distance and couldn't help but applaud.

"Everyone, get ready. If the Qing army attacks, we will retreat to Juehua Island."

"Order!"

That’s right, they came from the sea, to be precise, from Juehua Island.

Juehua Island is only fifteen miles away from Xingcheng on land. It is located in the Liaodong Bay of Bohai Sea and only 30 miles away from Ningyuan, forming a corner with Ningyuan City.

The History of Ming Dynasty called it: a fortress located between the east and west seas and lands, and the throat of the land and water of western Liaoning.

Once on land, it is only a hundred miles away from Jinzhou.

Therefore, before this, Huang Degong and his men, under the cover of the Ming Dynasty's Denglai Navy, first conquered the Juehua Island occupied by the Qing Dynasty.

Then the Qing soldiers' small boats and sampans were connected in a row, and then wooden boards were laid on them and connected with ropes. In this way, tens of thousands of people could be transported over.

Juehua Island has been brought up for discussion by countless people in the court since the Tianqi period.

Sun Chengzong proposed an active defense strategy of guarding outside the pass to protect the inside of the pass, that is, to defend Shanhaiguan, one must guard outside the pass.

But the specific policy was to focus on defending Ningyuan while also defending Juehua Island.

Just because they want to protect the capital, Ningyuan is "a strategic pass set up by heaven" to protect the capital, and "Juehua Island stands alone in the sea, like Ningyuan's left and right armpits."

Once the Later Jin army attacked Ningyuan City, the Ming army on Juehua Island would go out from the sea, bypass Sancha River, bypass the enemy and attack the enemy.

If the Later Jin army does not attack, we can find an opportunity to attack and recover the 200-li territory from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan, or even continue to advance and recover the entire Liao Dynasty.

In the words of Sun Chengzong, "guarding and recovering are ultimately the same thing, but being still is guarding, and moving is recovery."

It was because of this decision that Nurhaci, when the weather was freezing cold, led his cavalry to break into Juehua Island. The generals defending the island, including Wang Xifu, Ji Shideng, Wu Guoxun, Yao Yuxian and others, led the people in a desperate resistance, but were all killed in the battle. There were more than 7,000 soldiers and no one survived, and all the merchants, men and women were slaughtered.

Huang Degong used the same method to return the favor.

During the attack on Huajue Island, no one with a rat-tail braid will be spared.

"coming!"

"put!"

As the Manchus realized that the Ming army might not have many people, their cavalry attacked directly in this direction.

The soldiers of the Yongwei Camp fired artillery and muskets in an orderly manner. Cannonballs were fired at a distance, and muskets were fired at close range, which continuously exploded on the bodies of the Manchu Tartars.

Among these ten thousand people, six thousand had muskets.

Moreover, they chose an excellent location and dug trenches and pits... The Qing cavalry could not rush over for a while, and could not take advantage of the cavalry.

"Adjust the angle and release again!" Huang Degong ordered, "Hit him hard!"

Bullets spurted out like raindrops, landing among the Tatars, bringing up clouds of blood and flesh.

The war horses neighed and the soldiers let out uncontrollable howls. After a brief fight, countless corpses were left behind.

……

ps: I corrected a mistake. I don’t know if you noticed it: Zu Dashou’s adopted son Zu Kefa had been held hostage in Shengjing after the defeat in Dalinghhe.

(End of this chapter)