Chapter 150, The Flash in the Pan of the Qing Empire (Part 1)
August of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Shandong, Qingzhou Prefecture, Shouguang County
"...Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"...Kill the Tatars!"
Accompanied by the roar of artillery and the loud shouts of killing, 30,000 Dengzhou troops entered Qingzhou from the Changle County area. The first target was Shouguang County on the west bank of the river. Faced with such an overwhelming and fierce offensive, the small number of Qing troops deployed by Huang Taiji at the front of Qingzhou collapsed at the first touch and collapsed. In just ten days, the Qing army successively abandoned Shouguang, Linqu, Le'an, Guangrao and other county towns, and even the capital city of Qingzhou fell after a mere day of resistance. The soldiers and horses from all walks of life either broke up and surrendered after being defeated, or they rushed towards the provincial capital Jinan in a chaotic manner.
——After Huang Taiji led the main force of the Eight Banners to conquer Southern Zhili, the Qing army stationed in the Qingzhou area only had a total of only six to seven thousand people. They were basically composed of the former Shandong Ming army that had just surrendered. They had only shaved their heads and tied their braids. In just two or three months, the food and military pay were all based on looting and plundering on the spot. There was no time to cultivate either fighting skills or loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. Once faced with a strong enemy attack, they would naturally be defeated.
At this time, Huang Taiji's eldest son Hauge was responsible for guarding Jinan City with a thousand Manchurian flag soldiers and five thousand recently surrendered Ming troops. The news of the drastic changes in Liaodong had already caused chaos among the troops in Jinan City. Now seeing the Qingzhou battlefield collapse, while Chen Xin's Dengzhou Army continues to rapidly approach Jinan Prefecture, Hauge, who has only a few soldiers under his command, can't help but feel a drum in his heart, and has to quickly ask for help from his father, Huang Taiji, who is stationed in Xuzhou.
Faced with the sudden force of the Dengzhou Army on the battlefield in Shandong, His Majesty Huang Taiji, who was so angry that he vomited blood and almost fainted because he had just received the news of the drastic changes in Liaodong, was suddenly caught off guard and in chaos. In desperation, the "Emperor Chongde of the Qing Dynasty", who had just ascended the throne for a few days, had to order the soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners to prepare for another personal expedition. He turned around from Xuzhou and headed north to compete with Marshal Chen Xin's Dengzhou Army.
However, many people are not very optimistic about the prospects of Huang Taiji - two months ago, the main force of the Wenxiang Sect's army was during the large-scale southward expedition to Yangzhou. The Eight Banners soldiers penetrated Xuzhou from the north and blew their butts. As a result, the leader Wang Ke He had to lead his troops to turn around in a hurry to rescue the old nest, and then was defeated by the Qing army who was waiting for work, and was wiped out from then on. The current situation of the Qing army is almost a replica of the previous Wenxiang Sect. How can knowledgeable people be optimistic about it?
As a result, the various places in Huainan and Huaibei that had just planted the flag of the Qing Dynasty immediately began to be uneasy again. Many key members of the Wenxiang Sect and Ming Dynasty officials who had just paid homage to the Qing Emperor in Xuzhou immediately turned into anti-Qing elements after returning to their hometowns. In the Lianghuai area from Xuzhou to Yangzhou, except for a few prefectures and counties where the Eight Banners soldiers were stationed, the rest of the more remote places were full of undercurrents. But at this time, Huang Taiji was so overwhelmed that he had no time to take care of these trivial matters. Just gathering the soldiers, horses and food to go north to rescue Shandong was already giving him a headache.
At this time, the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty were not so much state power as an armed robbery group integrating military and civilian forces. Its most basic combat unit was Niulu. At that time, each Niulu of the Eight Banners of Manchuria generally had 300 strong men. Usually, one out of three soldiers was drawn, that is, one hundred strong men were selected as soldiers. Bannermen who serve as soldiers are called "armored men", and bannermen who are not soldiers temporarily are called "Yuding" or "idle". Even these "remnants" or "idlers" who are not soldiers are not engaged in production on weekdays. They are all supported by the Han people. They are paramilitary personnel who can fight in armor and mount horses. In fact, all the people are soldiers. In many cases, even Manchu women All must receive military training. When the army was expanding during wartime, Jurchen men other than armored men were often recruited.
The social structure designed in this way indeed squeezed the war potential of the Jurchen clan to the limit. However, because the total population of the Eight Banners was limited after all, even with such an aggressive military campaign, the Qing government could only muster around 50,000 Eight Banners soldiers at most. During this expedition to southern Zhili, Huang Taiji brought a total of 25,000 Manchu soldiers, 3,000 Mongolian flag soldiers, a small number of Liaodong Han troops, and more than 10,000 surrendered Ming troops that had just been collected. In addition to the more than 10,000 people brought by Dorgon from the battlefield in Henan, the total military strength was more than 50,000. Of course, these more than 50,000 people cannot be all combat soldiers, but also include a large number of auxiliary soldiers such as handymen and civilians. But for the Qing Dynasty, which had just entered the Central Plains, it was already a powerful force.
But the problem is that after the Wenxiang Sect entrenched in the Lianghuai River was defeated and surrendered, Huang Taiji dispersed a considerable part of his troops to receive various prefectures and counties that had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and at the same time let these soldiers plunder towns and clear grass and valleys. Getting rich, as a reward for previous military exploits, has long since gone away. Now they suddenly want to gather them together again, and suddenly there is chaos. Just the exchange of messengers took a lot of time, and then they had to prepare the rations, ordnance, coolies and ships for the northward battle... Wait until Huang Taiji had assembled and reorganized the entire army, arranged the troops and horses to be stationed, and then went north along the canal. By the time we marched to Shandong, more than a month had passed. This was considered a rare high efficiency among ancient armies.
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Fortunately, when Huang Taiji hurriedly led more than 30,000 people to the north and rushed back to Shandong by land and water, the Qing emperor breathed a sigh of relief that Jinan City had not yet been captured by the Dengzhou Army. The Qing Dynasty was conquered, but the flag of the Qing Dynasty was still flying!
But this is not the result of the emperor's eldest son Hauge. In fact, as early as when the Dengzhou Army had just approached, Hauge, who looked brave but was actually timid, used the pretext of ensuring the smooth flow of the Grand Canal to escape from Jinan with more than a thousand Eight Banners soldiers under his command, and hastily retreated to the east of the west. Changfu.
However, although the master of the Aixinjueluo family had fled, the prefect of Jinan appointed by the Qing court showed amazing loyalty and courage. This man first beheaded all his wives, concubines, and children and exposed their corpses in front of the government office to show his determination to fight to the end. Then he called on the gentry in Jinan City to provide food and men and fight to the death against the Dengzhou rebels. For a while, he actually got a lot of enthusiasm. response. Next, the prefect's Yamen organized scholars to spread rumors in the city, saying that the Dengzhou rebels killed people without batting an eyelid and could eat people's hearts and lungs. This attracted some people who did not know the truth to come to the city to help defend the city.
——Commander Chen Xin, who was in charge of Dengzhou Town, did not raise the red flag with the sickle and hammer pattern, but his land policy was exactly the same as that of the "our party" in the early days. They all forcibly confiscated or redeemed the land of the landlords and gentry, and then distributed it to the families of soldiers. , thus establishing many military farms named Tunpu. The goal is to win over the military's morale and create a group of their own die-hard supporters in Dengzhou as quickly as possible. At the same time, it also allowed Dengzhou Town to invisibly reduce the potential sources of opposition forces, disintegrate the original organization and mobilization power of the people without leaving a trace, and ensure the stability of the base camp.
Obviously, whether it is expropriation or redemption of land, it has seriously touched the sensitive nerves of the landowners of the world's gentry, because according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, they have always been the only ones who can seize the land of the poor and humble people, and they have not allowed the humble warriors to do the opposite. The truth that rides on the head. Therefore, as early as when he was still flying the banner of the Ming Dynasty's official army, Chen Xin began to continuously suppress and massacre the landlords and gentry. At the same time, he was constantly attacked and assassinated by the landlords and gentry. After raising the flag of rebellion, Commander-in-Chief Chen Xin intensified his tactics in carrying out land reform. Not only did he allow many impoverished poor people to receive land and become die-hard supporters of Commander-in-Chief Chen, he also killed the landlords and gentry in Jiaodong. The hatred is as deep as the sea, and the forces are irreconcilable.
——Although it is not impossible for time travelers with strong productivity to pay for the purchase of land, the problem is that in many cases, land cannot be purchased as long as you have money. It should be noted that during the feudal dynasty, the relaxed and leisurely life of the landlords and gentry was entirely based on the suffering of the tenant farmers. The political power in rural areas is mostly controlled by a small number of gentry and landowners. The basis of its status and power is a large area of land.
Although the landowners and gentry in the feudal era were stubborn for a while, they saw this very clearly. Naturally, they clung to the land and refused to let go. Because once the land is lost, the landlord will lose his original power base, which no amount of gold and silver can buy!
On the other hand, in the eyes of Marshal Chen Xin, since these landowners and gentry will not submit obediently whether it is redemption or confiscation, and will definitely jump out to cause chaos, then they can simply save this money as military expenses and directly use bullets and sabers. Talk to the landowners!
Since the Eight Banners of Manchuria, which were historically "unparalleled in bows and horses," were able to enclose land around Beijing and not only took away the land but also made the original landlords serfs, then the modernized Dengzhou Army, which has a more powerful combat capability, can obviously do the same. to such a thing. Anyway, there is no such thing as humanitarianism these days. Massacre of cities and genocide is a normal rule. Just kill as much as you want.
As a result, in Jinan City at this time, there were many landlords and gentry who had fled from Dengzhou Prefecture, Laizhou Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture in the east. Because the Dengzhou Army gathered a group of poor men and forcibly divided their fields, Everyone has a hatred towards Marshal Chen Xin for destroying their families and destroying their families. Under the cries and publicity of those who were in trouble, the landowners and gentry in Jinan Prefecture also knew about Marshal Chen of Dengzhou's "reverse behavior". They lamented and were indignant about this, and cursed Marshal Chen of Dengzhou for "colluding with the thieves". , transforming the barbarians into Xia", "I have never heard of such harsh treatment of the gentry in ancient times"! The hatred level exploded for a while.
Of course, if no one stood up and raised their arms, most of the Jin gentry would have no choice but to hold their noses and recognize the Dengzhou Army's reputation, or they could drag their families and flee further away. But since the prefect is now willing to take the lead in destroying the family and causing trouble, the Jinan gentry in Jinan Prefecture have naturally developed infinite loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. They would rather lose their entire family and fight back the Dengzhou rebellion and overseas thieves.
As a result, when about 4,000 Dengzhou troops marched all the way to Jinan City, they found themselves hitting a hard rock. They were beaten back after several strong attacks. At night, they were attacked by Jinan Xiangyong. . Next, the vanguard troops became fierce and quickly mobilized dozens of cannons, which were lined up around the Jinan city wall. The fierce gunfire smashed the bricks and stones on the wall, exposing the yellow rammed earth inside. But the Qing troops defending the city also fought bloody battles. Even in the face of the metal storm fired by so many cannons, they still fought to the death and refused to retreat.
Although the Dengzhou army once used cannons to destroy a section of the city wall in the east of Jinan, ants immediately attached themselves to it and poured into the city, trying to take the government office directly. Unexpectedly, tens of thousands of local warriors were temporarily summoned in Jinan City. When he was defending his hometown, he was extremely tenacious in fighting spirit. After some unprecedented chaos and brutal street fighting, the Dengzhou Army that had invaded Jinan City was pushed back, and hundreds of people were killed and injured, and their morale was greatly damaged.
At the same time, there was also a problem in the rear of the Dengzhou Army. Because the army advanced too fast in the previous stage, it only had time to occupy towns and main transportation lines. As a result, after the initial shock, the local gentry in Qingzhou soon began to counterattack in a large scale. They continued to incite the villagers to cause rebellion and contact The Qing forces in the west and the Dengzhou officials who went to the countryside to collect grain and tax at the same time ambushed them, creating one cruel and bloody case after another.
In this regard, Marshal Chen Xin was not a hypocritical saint. He immediately mobilized troops from all fronts, used violence to deal with violence, and began to exterminate the rebellious gentry one by one, preparing to plow up the remaining landlord and gentry forces in the occupied areas again. Again. However, due to the recurring rebellions, the Dengzhou Army lost sight of the other for a while and was unable to take precautions. Therefore, in a short period of time, it was really unable to continue to maintain the supply line for the Jinan siege troops.
Therefore, Chen Xin, who was unwilling to give up, reported to the East Asia Theater Headquarters and applied for the deployment of [Shuimen] and aviation units to quickly solve the Jinan problem. However, Huangshi flatly refused, on the grounds that priority should be given to ensuring the Liaodong mopping up campaign. Complete victory, and also warned Chen Xin not to be greedy for more, but to read more about "On War" - any attack must have limits!
In the end, Chen Xin had no choice but to curse that he was a stepmother while angrily giving the order to retreat to Jinan's frontline troops...
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When Huang Taiji led his army back to Jinan, the tragic siege had been over for many days, and the Dengzhou Army had also retreated in large strides to Qingzhou Prefecture, hundreds of miles away. However, looking at the blood-stained dilapidated city walls and listening to the gentry in the city recounting the war, Huang Taiji couldn't help but sigh, sighing that the Qing Dynasty was indeed our destiny. Even if the situation was unfavorable, there were still such loyal ministers. exist! However, just when he was about to reward the meritorious officials, he learned that the Qing Dynasty magistrate of Jinan named Sun Zhixian had unfortunately been shot to death at the end of the battle.
As a result, Huang Taiji was so excited that tears filled his eyes, and he decreed that Sun Zhixian, the prefect of Jinan, be granted the posthumous title of bachelor, and his wife was granted the title of first-grade imperial edict. He personally wrote a memorial for this loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty to commend his unparalleled loyalty and bravery. At the same time, a monument was erected on the bank of Daming Lake in Jinan to record Sun Zhixian's achievements.
Then, Huang Taiji ordered Hauge to be punished with a stick in front of the entire army to punish him for fleeing without fighting, in order to declare that he had clear rewards and punishments.
However, just as Huang Taiji was trying his best to set a positive example in Jinan City, trying to inspire people and boost morale. Thousands of miles away, in the General Military Office of Datong, the two leaders of the Guanning Army, King Wu Xiang of Zhou and King Zu Dashou of Jin, were politely receiving Li Yunrui, the secret envoy of Huang Shi, the commander-in-chief of the East Asian Theater of the Chinese Alliance, and brought Wu Sangui, the Crown Prince of Zhou, who came with Li Yunrui, stood aside with a smile on his face to accompany him.
"...I think the two princes should understand what General Huang wants to express!"
Li Yunrui unceremoniously ate tea cakes and said grandly, "... Speaking of which, you two princes are also heroes of the generation, so why are you willing to be slaves of the Tatars? Rather than working for others, how can you Are you comfortable being the master of your own affairs?”
"...Your Excellency taught you that we are also Chinese people. Although we had no choice but to surrender Huang Taiji, we had already wanted to bring order to the chaos and expel the Tartars. But the nine-tailed fox demon Huang Taiji was very shrewd. Really looking for There is no suitable opportunity. Now that General Huang has taken all Liaodong and destroyed the lair of the slaves, and all the Eight Banners soldiers in the Central Plains have become homeless dogs, how can we continue to be the accomplices of the Tatars? "
The Prince of Jin, Dashou, quickly said nonsense with a smile on his face, "...it's just...that the Central Plains within the Great Wall can really be owned by us?"
"...It's absolutely true. My lord only wants Liaodong. The land of Beizhili in Shanhaiguan can be shared by the two princes. Our army does not want an inch of land and does not take any property. Even Shanhaiguan can continue to be occupied by your army. , this sincerity should be enough!”
Li Yunrui smiled but said, "... Of course, the two princes have to make a clean break with the Manchu Tartars and hand over a surrender certificate! Otherwise, how can we know whether the two princes have repented? Could it be that the two princes are feel We don’t have enough troops to defeat the remnants of the slave-building forces who have seized the capital? That’s okay. My Lord is happy to send a Funing army into the pass to help the two princes recover the capital from the Tartars..."
"...Uh...don't bother General Huang with this! The elite soldiers who established the slaves are either in Shandong or in Southern Zhili. There are only a handful of old, weak, women and children in Beijing. I can deal with them myself! Please hurry up. Report back to General Huang and ask him to wait for good news..."
Wu Xiang, the king of Zhou, was immediately frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly waved his hand and declined. At the same time, he winked at his son Wu Sangui and asked him to bring a plate of gold and silver and placed it in front of Li Yunrui. A small gift is no respect..."
"...Haha, His Royal Highness the King of Zhou is so polite, thank you very much, then I would be disrespectful..." - The wheels of history rumbled by, and in the midst of this conspiracy, the short-lived Qing Empire completely came to an end...