Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

It must be said that human psychology is very delicate. Although Xia Jun appeared on the front line of You'anmen a few days ago, causing panic in Beijing, Xia Jun did not take any further actions to attack the city after defeating the banner camp in the city. More reinforcements, all this gave hope to the Qing court in Beijing who had no time to escape, thinking that the Sixth Division of the Xuanwu Army was actually a lone army copying the enemy's rear, and a special division to intimidate and shake The troops of the Qing court's fighting will, so the once unstable order in the city has stabilized again. Only the high-level Manchurians who know the truth are still fleeing to the northeast in an endless stream. Ordinary people have returned to normal life, and even the closed city gates A few were opened so that daily necessities could enter and domestic garbage could be transported out.

But fantasies can only be fantasies that cannot become reality. On the night of August [-], when a troop of thousands of people under the banner of the Xia Army approached You'anmen, the city of Beijing became chaotic again, especially early the next morning, when In front of the defenders on the city, after Xia Jun publicly chopped off the heads of thousands of Mongols and built a Jingguan, there was a huge wave of fleeing in the city.

It’s just that the people in the outer city couldn’t escape if they wanted to. Under the control of the infantry commander Yamen, Wucheng Bing Masi, and Shuntian Mansion, the once-opened east and west gates were closed again. The only open gate between the inner and outer cities Chongwenmen was also locked, and the people in half of the city fell into an island-like life, and everyone waited anxiously for the final judgment of fate.

As for the Manchurian banners in the inner city, many people have escaped in the past seven days, but most of them were preserved by clan princes above Jueluo and their servants, a number of Manchu and Han civil and military officials and their families, and various ministries of the Qing court. Important archives, a small amount of bank deposits in the household department, and various treasures in the imperial city. As for the low-grade Manchu officials and ordinary bannermen, they are neither qualified to leave the city immediately, nor do they have enough supplies to allow them to escape after leaving the city. Far.

Originally, seeing that Xia’s reinforcements hadn’t arrived, these ordinary Manchus and Manchus would just get by. However, the arrival of Xia’s first batch of reinforcements didn’t count, and they used the heads of the Mongols to declare their determination to retaliate against the Manchus. It made people of all ages restless, so the Manchurians flocking to Dongzhimen almost filled the street.

Seeing so many people fleeing, Long Ke, the admiral of the nine gates, was so worried that he couldn't even eat. He had no choice but to go to see Kangxi, but Kangxi didn't see anyone. The elder brothers Nei Yinzhen and Yin'e asked for an idea.

Yinzhen and Yin'e didn't know how long Kangxi was going to detain them. They were drinking and whoring, and they were all over the world harming those court ladies whom Kangxi didn't care about. At this time, they heard that it was about their livelihood, so they had to get nervous.After thinking about it for a long time, the two finally came up with an idea. Even if Longkodo wanted to take advantage of Xia Jun's neglect of the north of the city, open the Desheng Gate, Anding Gate, and Chaoyang Gate to let more Manchus escape, he would also I really want to find a way to mix in and go out of the city together.

Long Kedo thought about it for a long time, and felt that this was the only way to go, so he opened the three doors that night to guide the Manchu people out of the city.

In the early morning of August 21, as the fleeing Manchus were rushing out of the city, the Shence Army suddenly rushed out from a distance and rushed straight to the open city gates everywhere.Seeing Xia Jun's appearance, the bannermen who were leaving the city were terrified. They didn't have time to distinguish whether it was the real Xia Jun or some kind of mercenary in front of them. Some immediately fled into the city, and some fled to places far away from the city gate.But the people outside the city wanted to crowd into the city, and the people inside the city wanted to rush out of the city. Suddenly, the gate of the city was in chaos, and it was very difficult for the bannermen guarding the city to close the gate.After much difficulty, Deshengmen and Chaoyangmen finally closed the city gates before Xia Jun arrived to keep Xia Jun out. However, Xia Jun at Dongzhimen took control of the north gate of Wengcheng and fought with the defending Qing army with bird guns. Fired with iron cannons, both sides lost each other.

The crisis happened at Andingmen. The Xia army not only controlled the two gates of the entire Wengcheng, but also rushed into the inner city, and fought desperately with the Qing army defenders at the gates and walls of the inner city.The defenders were worried that Xia's army would enter the city to massacre the banner people, so they fought desperately; the Japanese in Xia's army were excited at the thought of capturing the capital of a huge empire with their own hands, and their fighting spirit was high; Tragic.

Speaking of which, the flag soldiers who are delicate and fleshy are very unsuitable for the brutal fighting style of the Japanese soldiers. In addition, Xia Jun, who failed at Deshengmen and Chaoyangmen, continued to fight after learning that they controlled Andingmen. Soon, Xia Jun took control of the entire Andingmen, and killed along the city wall all the way to Dongzhimen.

When Xia Jun took control of Dongzhimen again, the Qing army defending the city inevitably collapsed.At this time, everyone knew that the fall of the Qing court was imminent, and even the Manchus themselves were unwilling to be buried for the Qing court. Therefore, before the Xia army attacked, all the seven gates of the inner city that were still in the hands of the Qing army were opened. , Countless Manchus scrambled to escape to the outside of the city, and those who were far away simply fled into the outer city where the people lived.The momentum of this instant disintegration made Xia army officers and soldiers all dumbfounded.

"Immediately control all sects in Beijing." Cao Yichong, who was the most senior, was the first to wake up. "Don't worry about the lack of soldiers, one sentry is enough to control one city gate." Out of the extreme self-confidence after seeing the ugly appearance of the Qing army, no one vetoed Cao Yichong's proposal, so fourteen sentries were sent to control the rest of Beijing's city gates. "Next, let's surround the imperial city. We must not let Kangxi escape."

[Shooting Sirius] Yu Guoen, the chief executive of the regiment, hesitated to encircle the imperial city with all his troops: "There are still so many Tartars in the city, what if? Not to mention that the Tartars still have the guts to face our army, even if there is any fire in the city, it is easy to get out." Big mess."

"This is easy to handle. Bring in the Sixth Division of the Xuanwu Army and let them control the whole city." [Fourteen States] Tuan Tuan Qian Yu Ke still has an old opinion. "You can't let Japanese soldiers enter the houses at will, it will cause big trouble."

"What, the Shence Army has already taken control of every sect in Beijing." Gu Jie said with some envy. "Why so fast."

Gu Jie’s inability to take Beijing is not because he is incompetent, but the key is that he does not have enough troops. If he wants to take down the capital of a country with only 3000 people, even the capital of a country that is panic-stricken is something that the God of War can’t do. He couldn't do it himself, but a group of mercenaries did it. It's impossible not to be jealous.

"What are they doing now?" Gu Jie asked somewhat insinuatingly, but the answer surprised him. "Surrounding the imperial city? Are we going into the city to maintain order?" Gu Jie ordered after thinking for a moment. "Go to town, go to town now"

Xia Jun continued to march into Beijing, which immediately eased the imminent situation. After arranging patrols in the inner and outer cities, Gu Jie rushed to the main gate of the imperial city, Daqing Gate.The Daqing Gate is the original Daming Gate. The majestic three-queen gate, the open square in front of the gate and the looming taller gate behind it dazzled the Japanese soldiers who were used to low buildings, and some even knelt down there. Know whether to worship or pray.

"Lieutenant Cao," Gu Jie called Cao Yichong's real officer. According to China's military officer system, Tuanqian is always a fifth-rank second-class captain. "The Shence army captured Beijing in one fell swoop, which is an unprecedented feat. Here, I would like to congratulate Captain Cao and all the captains in advance."

Hearing the sourness in Gu Jie's words, Cao Yichong immediately replied: "Don't dare, if there is no foreshadowing from Mr. Gu and the Sixth Division of the Xuanwu Army, how can the Shence Army succeed easily? If it is, it is half as expensive as my two departments, and the Shence Army will never dare to covet the achievements of the sky."

Seeing Cao Yichong's understanding, Gu Jie's expression softened, and he said: "You and I should stop flattering each other, but although the inner and outer cities of Beijing have already fallen into the hands of our army, the imperial city and the palace city are still under the control of the Tartars. I don’t know what Mr. Cao Qian’s proposition is here.”

"Before our troops completely surrounded the imperial city, there were still many Manchus and Manchu soldiers who escaped into the imperial city." When Gu Jie got to the point, Cao Yichong told the truth. "Therefore, if you want to attack by force, you may suffer great damage." This is true. Neither of the two armies of the Xia army has heavy artillery. It may not be so easy to attack the fortified Forbidden City with a little light artillery support. "Furthermore, His Majesty only regards Wuchang as his hometown so far. Whether he has the idea of ​​moving the capital to Beijing, I can't guess. But if the Forbidden City is magnificent, if it is destroyed by the flames of war, I'm afraid it's not up to you and me to decide."

"It makes sense." Gu Jie nodded repeatedly. "In this case, we can only siege the city first."

"There are troubles in the siege." Cao Yichong said what the group leaders were worried about before. "After all, the Japanese soldiers are of a different race. They should not stay in Beijing for long. If there is no reinforcements, they will change sooner or later."

"Don't worry about this, I have already sent a letter to Dezhou asking for help before I came here." Gu Jie smiled unnaturally. "Lord Cao, my lords, don't think that Gu is trying to steal credit."

Shi Xiong, the head of the [Poloulan] regiment, responded with a sneer on his face: "So that Master Gu will know that our department has already sent someone to report to Dezhou when we entered the city. In addition, I calculated the time. If it’s not bad, armies from all walks of life will arrive in Beijing one after another within a few days, and the fastest may arrive tomorrow.”

Gu Jie raised his brows, as if he wanted to get angry, and pressed down forcefully, he just smiled and said, "That's very good, I just want to let all the adults know that apart from the various cavalry units, the southern front probably won't be able to send many troops to the north for a while. gone."

Gu Jie explained with some meaning: "Yinhu and Yinxiang's tribes are sticking to Zhangde, and the Holy Majesty has already mobilized the army to surround them to death. In addition, the remnants of the Qing Dynasty were wiped out from all over the country, and they were stationed and received in various prefectures and counties. The main force in the south will still be busy for a while."

Cen Gang, the head of the [Wolf Juxu] regiment, didn't hear what Gu Jie meant at all, but responded carelessly: "It doesn't matter if the main force is late, as long as the cavalry can arrive, we can also spare our hands."

"Your Majesty Gu, what you mean is that the Holy Admiral will use cavalry to attack Yuguan, Xuanhua and other places?" [Fourteen States] Regiment Chief Yu Ke heard something, and responded with a half-smile. "It's not impossible, but even if Tao Tongzhi is transferred from Tianjin at that time, the imperial city will not be attacked by you and me, and the imperial guards will have to take over."

Gu Jie's complexion changed slightly, and he reluctantly replied: "Yes, the Holy Majesty's personal conquest, the king's meeting with the king is the only way to complete the consummation at the end."