Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1211 Capture Shenyang

Ding Keze pulled out the pier of the Qing army on the opposite bank, killed more than 100 bannermen, and then took out a rocket and shot it into the sky. Xie Qian on the other bank saw the signal and immediately arranged for the army to start crossing the river.

The boat first dragged the rope to the opposite bank, and the soldiers felled the trees. By dawn, a pontoon bridge had appeared on the Yalu River.

The 20-strong army marched out of the camp, each soldier carrying a roll of blankets and more than [-] catties of grain on his back in addition to holding a weapon, and marched forward.

On this road to Shenyang, there were no supplies along the way, and it was all up to the soldiers and vehicles to carry the food themselves.

The reason why Wang Yan wanted to keep the Qing army in the pass was because the area outside the pass was sparsely populated and covered with mountains and forests. More than [-] Manchus were scattered in the forests and mountains outside the pass. The Ming army could not find them, but they could suddenly Gathering together to attack the strongholds of the Ming Dynasty, the cost of the Ming army's encirclement and suppression was too high.

The 3-strong army quickly crossed the Yalu River, followed by a large number of North Korean civilian husbands pushing wheelbarrows.

North Korea lacks large livestock, so the transportation of military rations has to be pushed by manpower, and most of the food is eaten on the way.

Xie Qian and Xia Wanchun stood on the west bank on horseback. There was an army of [-]. The Ming army wore single tassel helmets, and the Korean army had a small harpoon on their helmets. The army marched mightily to the east.

At this time, Xie Qian called Ding Keze and gave a few instructions. Under the leadership of the guide, an elite Ming army of more than 2000 people separated from the brigade and headed towards Xinbinbao.

When the Ming and Qing dynasties saw each other outside the pass, the strategy of the Ming Dynasty was to use cannons to defend against the Qing army, and the Qing army would destroy every city it attacked.

Dalinghe City was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and most of the other cities outside the pass were also destroyed by the Qing army.

The Qing army did this mainly because they were in an offensive position strategically, and because they had a small population and were mainly concentrated in Shenyang, they did not need those cities. If they stayed, the Ming army would occupy them again. Attack, so simply destroyed.

At present, there are not many well-preserved cities outside the pass by the Qing army. Only Shenyang, because it is the "Shengjing" of the Qing Dynasty, has the most complete and reinforced cities.

At present, the Manchu and Qing forces are insufficient, and there are only more than 3000 bannermen outside the pass, guarded by Gushan Ezhenhe Luohui.

Of course, in addition to the banner soldiers, the Baoyi and banner slaves near Shenyang, as well as the old and weak women and children of the Manchus, can all take up weapons to fight.

Compared with the Manchus who entered the customs, the Manchus who stayed outside the customs were not completely corrupted, and even women could open their bows.

"Shengjing" is the capital of the Manchus, and most of the population outside the customs is concentrated here. There are more than 1 Manchus in the city, old and weak, and more than 3 coats and dependents.

In the farms outside the city, there are nearly 40 Liao people, almost all of whom are banner slaves and are the targets of oppression.

Because the main force of the Manchus entered the pass, the consumption in Shenyang was greatly reduced. Therefore, the Manchus outside the pass were supported by these more than 40 Liao people, and they were still self-sufficient, and they did not need help from the pass.

Of course, the situation of the Qing court has been getting worse and worse in recent years, and it has hardly provided any supplies for outsiders.

This situation did not change until Jiang Xiang's rebellion began.Although the supplies in the pass were tight, the Qing government still sent supplies from time to time, and the city was ordered to be reinforced again.

In addition to the materials transported by the government, many Manchu nobles in Beijing also transferred a lot of property outside the customs.

He Luo will know that this is the Prince Regent preparing a way out for the Qing Dynasty.He didn't feel neglected, and ordered the city to be reinforced, and at the same time, dozens of warehouses of various sizes were built in the city to store a large amount of food and military supplies.

These materials are related to whether the Manchus can gain a foothold after returning to the customs. Heluo will be very cautious, but with the defeat of Dorgon, the situation facing the Qing has deteriorated seriously, and he found that even "Shengjing" is not safe.

If the main force of the Manchus could retreat to the outside of the pass, with a hundred thousand soldiers, it would not be a big problem to hold Shengjing, but he heard that there were less than [-] bannermen inside the pass, so he knew that Shengjing would not be able to hold it.

Therefore, he began to prepare to transfer a batch of supplies to "Xingjing", the old nest of the Manchus, so that if "Shengjing" could not be defended, they could return to the mountains.

Ever since hearing that Dorgon died in the defeated army, the Heluo Society knew that the Manchus could not stay in the pass.

In his opinion, the imperial court should be decisive, retreat to the outside of the pass quickly, and strengthen the defense outside the pass. However, after he wrote a proposal, the imperial court did not respond. Soon after, King Yingjun and King Pingjun who advocated abandoning Beijing immediately were killed. The news of Doduo's dead body being exposed to the public made him afraid to speak again.

He was also a member of Dorgon's party, and most of the Prince Rui's party in the Qing court had been purged, so he did not dare to maintain the same views as Lou Qin, and could only wait anxiously.

On the top of the city, He Luohui stared into the distance with melancholy eyes. He hoped so much that the Qing soldiers in the pass would withdraw because he felt a huge threat, and this threat made him sleepless.

After the restoration of Korea, the main forces of the Ming army and the Korean army were stationed on the banks of the Yalu River. It was like a sharp sword hanging over his head. Whenever it fell, it would fall outside the pass.

Nalan Mingzhu next to him said in a low voice: "Gushan, there are more than 1 armed soldiers in the city. Even if the Ming army comes from North Korea, we should still be able to fight."

He Luohui shook his head, "You don't understand, even if we can defend Shengjing, it's meaningless! As long as the Ming army besieges it for a while, the city will still be breached sooner or later."

"Then what should we do now?" Nalan Mingzhu frowned.

There was resentment in He Luohui's eyes, "The key now is to gather the strength of our Manchurians and make a plan to abandon Shengjing. Once we are trapped in the city by the Ming army, it will be over!"

Nalan Mingzhu nodded, and asked: "Is this why Gushan is going to transport Shengjing's money and food to Xingjing?"

"Shengjing is one map of Pingchuan, and it is close to the Ming army. We no longer have the advantage of cavalry. The Ming army can easily trap us in the city. Xingjing is different. In Changbai Mountain, if the Ming army wants to attack, it will stretch the food supply. Second, even if they take Xingjing, they won't be able to garrison for a long time, and once they leave, I can regain Xingjing again."

The biggest difficulty for the Ming army to destroy the Qing army outside the pass was that supplies could not be obtained outside the pass, and all food was transported inside the pass.The odds of the Qing army's victory were that the Ming army ran out of food and retreated by itself.

If the Qing army was besieged in Shenyang, it would be relatively easy for the Ming army to transport food and grass, and they could also grow food outside the city, but it was different in Xingjing, where the mountains stretched and it was difficult to get in, and the Ming army could not stay for long.

"Then why don't we make preparations first, and quickly transport some grain to Xingjing before the Ming army does anything! That way, if the Ming army makes a big attack, we can evacuate immediately!" Nalan Mingzhu said.

Only by taking advantage of the advantages of the fishing and hunting peoples, the Manchu Qing had a chance to wander in the mountains and forests. If they were surrounded in the city, they would surely be defeated. Nalan Mingzhu also wanted to understand this point.

"I'm about to do this, and that's what the King of England meant before." Having said that, He Luohui couldn't help but sigh.

Nalan Mingzhu also fell silent, the two of them just stood at the top of the city for a while, Mingzhu suddenly asked: "Gushan, has there been any movement from the North Korean side recently?"

He Luohui shook his head, "I sent a team to monitor North Korea, but there is no news yet."

Nalan Mingzhu heaved a sigh of relief, "Then we still have some time to transfer the supplies!"

While the two were talking, a soldier rushed over and reported in a hurry: "Reporting to Gushan, Xingjing was attacked by the Ming army. The person who asked for help just arrived outside the east city..."

(End of this chapter)