Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 253 Battle of Shengjing
Outside Shengjing City, the wind whistled across the fields and the war horses galloped like a flood.

Chongzhen drank the hot rice porridge and looked at the scene outside and couldn't help but sigh: "The military formation of my Ming Dynasty is so powerful."

"The strength of the army lies largely not in individuals but in the whole," Li Banghua said with a smile.

“……” Chongzhen suddenly fell silent. He remembered what Zhu Changgan had said.

Before this year, the Ming cavalry would certainly not dare to meet the Qing cavalry on the field, not because of their poor individual combat power, but because of their morale.

This is also why, before this year, there were occasional victories in small-scale wars with the Qing Dynasty, but there had never been a major war.

Because war is a struggle between the will of millions of people and the enemy.

The Ming Dynasty was full of people from top to bottom who were collecting empty salaries. The officials and generals were so fat that their stomachs were bigger than those of women. The people who were actually fighting in the wars could not even get enough food, so naturally they had no energy to fight.

What spirit, willpower, and combat power are all nonsense. Losing a battle? Not losing a battle is a rare thing.

The soldiers on the front line suffered defeat after defeat, and their morale became increasingly low...but now it's different.

Zhu Changgan came, he raised his butcher knife, and blood flowed like a river... He killed civil officials and military generals, and the blood flowed like a river, but the effect was extremely obvious.

Chongzhen has been following the five major camps and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty these days. He can feel the gap in the combat effectiveness of the Ming army very deeply and clearly in his heart.

Not to mention the five major camps, there are huge differences among the people in the Pinglu Army alone.

The disparity in combat power, compared to when he was leading, is not just one or two times, but... ten times or even dozens of times.

Chongzhen was in a daze when Li Banghua slapped him awake, "What's wrong with you?"

"It's okay. I just want to go to the front line and see how the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty capture Shengjing."

Li Banghua shook his head, "Don't panic, His Majesty's order has arrived, let us besiege Shengjing."

"Besieged?"

"That's right. The Qing dynasty always talks about cutting down big trees. I, the Ming dynasty, will teach them what it means to cut down big trees."

Cutting down big trees?
Chongzhen raised his eyes suddenly and murmured:
"If you want to cut down a large tree, how can you cut it all at once? You must use an axe and a saw to cut it down gradually until it becomes thinner and thinner, and then you can cut it. If you want to take over a country of equal size in one fell swoop, how can you destroy it completely? And you must flatten all the cities and towns under its jurisdiction, leaving only the capital. If you do this, how can you be the master without servants? How can you be the king without the people?"

It means: Taking Yanjing is like cutting down a big tree. You have to chop it from both sides first, then the tree will fall down by itself.

These words were originally put forward by Nurhaci. One of the main reasons why he was able to rise among many powerful enemies was due to his strategy.

Huang Taiji has also been continuing his strategy.

But now it was brought up by Zhu Changgan, which made Chongzhen feel an extremely strange sense of déjà vu.

But he soon understood, his eyes widened, "Supervisor means..."

"That's right!" Li Banghua placed three teams of soldiers on the sand table.

One team was composed of Korean soldiers, another team was composed of the Mongolian tribes south of the desert, and the last team was composed of Shang Kexi's tribe from Pi Island.

Li Bang's eyes were like fire as he said, "They are already clearing out other tribes of the Manchus, so we don't need to panic. After they have cut off all the branches and leaves, we will have the chance for the final decisive battle."

It’s just that the “cutting down big trees” of the Ming Dynasty is different from the “cutting down big trees” of Huang Taiji of the Qing Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's "cutting down big trees" this time was like the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves, and it would not give the Qing Dynasty any chance to hesitate at all.

……

"According to Tan Tai's report, Gong Adai and Xihan encountered the Ming army outside Shengjing City. The Qing Dynasty was defeated. Tan Tai requested reinforcements. Chongzhen sent 150,000 troops towards Shengjing. The situation is tense and ready to explode."

As soon as the news came out, the Qing court suddenly became chaotic.

"What...what should I do?"

"Zhu Youjian is unwilling to marry..."

Just at this moment, someone ran in from outside, and it was Xihan.

"Your Majesty, when I came back, I saw the Ming cavalry galloping everywhere outside the city, like gusts of wind blowing past, and our Qing Dynasty was invincible."

"Why are you back?"

Xihan was originally sent by Dorgon to persuade Yuetuo to surrender, but his sudden return made Dorgon immediately alert.

Xihan knelt down quickly and said, "Your Majesty, Korea has sent out 50,000 troops, which have broken through the defense of our Qing army and entered our ancestral land of the Qing Dynasty."

However, before Dorgon could react, another piece of news came.

"Report ~ 30,000 troops from the Mongolian tribes south of the desert are entering the Qing territory from Ulan Butong."

"Report, Shang Kexi's troops are dispatching from Pi Island..."

Bad news came one after another like heavy hammers, each one more devastating than the last.

The Korean soldiers entered the territory of the Qing Dynasty, which meant that they were only 200 miles away from Shengjing, and the cavalry of the Mongolian tribes south of the desert were only 800 miles away from Shengjing, and could reach the destination in eight days.

"The Ming court is taking advantage of my illness to kill me..." Dorgon's lips turned purple, he felt dizzy, and fell on his back. Fortunately, a young eunuch quickly supported him so that he did not hit the ground with his head.

Dorgon was in poor health and suffered from many illnesses.

Hauge once cursed him, saying that Dorgon was a "sick but unlucky" man. In addition, in the Battle of Songjin, he was armed to the teeth but was injured, which was a huge burden for the frail and sickly Dorgon.

Of course, there is another saying that excessive indulgence will damage your vitality.

All the Manchu princes and nobles knew that Dorgon was a man who loved women extremely. Not only did he forcefully take Haoge's wife into his house, he also took Korean women as concubines many times. He had poor health to begin with, and marrying so many wives was naturally extremely detrimental to his health.

No matter what the reason was, he was completely overwhelmed by the blow and fainted.

There was another round of chaos in the court.

……

The siege lasted for more than ten days. During these ten days, the Ming artillery fire rained down on Shengjing City. The shells hit the city walls and landed in the city, making a deafening sound.

The towers were damaged several times by Ming Dynasty artillery fire, and the Qing Dynasty urgently rescued them again. However, the next round of artillery fire hit them again, creating even bigger holes. Several towers were even on the verge of collapse.

Li Banghua saw all this, but he never ordered anyone to attack the city.

He was waiting for news from other lines.

It was not until the evening of the thirteenth day that news from the Embroidered Uniform Guard finally arrived, saying that Korean troops and troops from southern Mongolia appeared behind Shengjing.

Li Banghua's eyes suddenly brightened, "Order all troops to attack the city!"

Wow~
The soldiers in the major camps had been almost going crazy these days, and when they saw the drumbeats and the waving of flags, it was like a shot of adrenaline injected into their bodies, and they suddenly became excited.

The blood in the veins began to burn instantly.

"After two rounds of artillery fire, attack the city~"

Boom boom boom...

All the artillery pieces were concentrated together and rained down on the city walls, causing the Shengjing city wall to completely lose its balance.

With a loud crash, it began to fall.

The Ming army also launched a charge amid the sounds of collapse.

The whole world suddenly became chaotic.

The Ming army's artillery, muskets, spears... continued to reap the lives of the Tartars. Lead bullets penetrated their armor, stabbed into their flesh, and embedded themselves into their bones. Spears cut through the flesh and bones of the Tartars.

As the first echelon in East Asia, the Eight Banners Army also put up a tenacious resistance at the first moment.

They drew their swords and collided violently with the Ming army.

The clouds on the horizon were as red as fire and as red as blood, and beneath the clouds... the sounds of killing and the smell of blood filled everyone's perception.

……

Shengjing,

The wind was cold and the winter sky was gray. The ruthless wind blew snowflakes and raged on the empty streets.

The ground was covered with a thin layer of white snow, which made a dull sound when stepped on.

The entire Qing capital was shrouded in an atmosphere of tension, fear and solemnity.

It was already dark, and battle reports from outside the city kept coming into the palace. None of the princes or nobles dared to go back to sleep.

There is no other reason. How can they sleep in a war that will destroy their country and their race?

But as battle reports continued to come in, their faces became like the weather outside, constantly covered with frost and freezing, becoming extremely ugly.

The outer city was defeated in less than an hour.

However, the Ming army did not attack immediately, but instead mobilized powerful artillery to bombard the inner city again.

Boom~
At this moment, a cannon fell not far from the palace.

The resounding sound shook the universe.

The princes and nobles looked at the scene before them with their Adam's apples rolling. It was not until this moment that they seemed to suddenly realize that the real blade was no longer in their hands.

"Your Majesty, your health..." The aggrieved voice of the little eunuch suddenly sounded, but was quickly interrupted.

The princes and nobles guarding the door suddenly felt reassured when they heard the voice.

"Get out of the way!" Dorgon's voice finally rang out from the palace. He was awakened by the sound of artillery shells.

Dorgon, with a pale face, endured the physical discomfort and got out of the bed and walked out of the room with the help of a young eunuch.

"emperor!"

"emperor……"

Dorgon waved his hands and said laboriously, "We cannot let the Ming army rest. A long battle will tire them out. Their repeated rests prove this point."

"No matter what, we can't let the Ming army rest. We have to fight if we can win, and we have to fight if we can't."

By now, Dorgon finally determined Li Banghua's tactics.

The direct defeat of the Qing Dynasty in the Battle of Songjin was not actually that terrible, nor was it incapable of adjustment. Instead, Li Banghua's siege, trench digging, artillery, and muskets, as well as taking advantage of rest, gradually eroded the morale and territory of the Qing Dynasty, causing greater damage.

So much so that on the second day, when the troops of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty suddenly appeared on the flank of the Ming army, the Ming army was startled.

The heavy cavalry of the Eight Banners of the Manchus tore through the snowfield.

The Ming army reacted quickly, using chevaux de frise, trenches, artillery, and muskets, but the mad Tatars only blocked them for a moment before they crossed over and collided with the Ming army.

The entire battlefield was filled with the sounds of horses and weapons colliding and swords and spears tearing into flesh.

The sound of wind, cannon fire, musket fire, shouts of killing... all combined into a raging blood and fire, burning and roaring as it engulfed the entire earth.

"The direction of the central army?!"

Sun Kewang, who had hacked and killed the people around him, looked into the distance with his eyes wide open.

The direction of the Qing Dynasty's charge was obviously well thought out. Regardless of casualties, they concentrated all their strength to charge towards the Ming army's center.

……

(End of this chapter)