Chapter 2854
After a simple welcoming ceremony outside the city, everyone took carriages prepared in advance. Guarded by hundreds of armed cavalry, they entered the city from Desheng Gate and passed through the city to the imperial city where the local government offices were located.
Even in the car, everyone could feel that Shenyang City was obviously much larger than the several Liaodong cities they had visited before. Looking out of the car window, the population density in the city seems to be higher. But judging from the clothes of the people on the street, it seems that the residents here are not only Han people, but there should also be many people who belong to the indigenous tribes of Liaodong.
At every intersection along the way, Haihan soldiers with loaded guns can be seen guarding them. It is not known whether this is the normal situation in the area, or whether it is because of the special security measures taken by Bai Kesi and his party.
The convoy traveled north for about five miles before arriving outside the imperial city.
After Nurhachi established his capital in Shenyang, he began to build palaces and government facilities in the city. Among them, the Dazheng Hall is a facility for holding grand ceremonies and discussing government affairs, while the Ten King Pavilions are divided into two rows in the south direction of the Dazheng Hall in a swallow-wing arrangement, serving as the places where the left and right wing kings and the Eight Banner Banners respectively work in the palace. However, the position of the left and right wing king has always been vacant, and it is no longer possible to verify what Nurhaci originally thought. It is a mystery left over from history.
After Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, he carried out a large-scale construction project and built a series of palaces such as Daqing Gate, Chongzheng Hall, Phoenix Tower, and Qingning Palace on the west side of the former king's palace. It took ten years to complete.
After Haihan occupied Shenyang, he did not intend to let the imperial city lie idle. After cleaning it up, he moved all the government offices in the area into the imperial city, which can be regarded as making the best use of it.
After everyone got off the car, they saw in front of them a hard-mounted building with five rooms wide and more than two feet high. The three rooms in the middle were all doorways. The roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles and decorated with green edges. On the protruding ridges there are sea water, clouds, dragons and various animal patterns, all inlaid with colorful glazed, which looks quite impressive.
Chen Yixin introduced to Bai Kesi and others: "This is the main entrance of the Qing Palace. Its real name is Daqing Gate. I thought this name was unlucky, so I took off the plaque on this door early in the morning."
Under his leadership, everyone entered the palace gate. In front of them was a large square with the ground paved with square stone tiles. At the other end of the square is a conspicuous palace. From a distance, you can see the words "Chongzheng Hall" on the plaque under the eaves.
This Chongzheng Hall is actually equivalent to the Jinluan Hall of the Qing Palace. The main hall is five rooms wide and three rooms deep, with corridors in the front and back and surrounded by stone railings. The roof of the palace, like the palace gate, is also paved with yellow and green glazed tiles. There are colorful glazed dragon patterns and flame beads on the ridge, and there are chi heads spitting water under the eaves. There is even a stone sun crown and jialiang in front of the palace, which completely imitates the regulations of the Ming Palace.
"The emperor of the Qing Dynasty used to receive ministers and handle government affairs here. We don't have those red tapes, so after taking over here, we emptied the palace and turned it into a large conference room. We usually hold combat meetings or something, which can accommodate hundreds of people. It won't be crowded." Chen Yixin obviously didn't have any good impressions of the Manchus. He only retained these large buildings that were difficult to build, while all other traces left by the Manchus were erased.
Bai Letong noticed that the Qing palace buildings were actually in the traditional Chinese style. It is conceivable that the vast majority of the craftsmen who designed and built these palaces were Han Chinese. It can be seen that although the Manchu and Qing Tatars were of barbarian origin, they could not hide their yearning for advanced civilization. Even the residence of the ruler had to be built according to the shape of the Han imperial palace. But having said that, the style of the Shenyang Palace is obviously much more upright than the palace Bai Letong saw in Seoul, North Korea last year. It can be seen that the North Koreans' ability to imitate architecture is much worse than that of the Manchus.
Bai Letong asked: "The buildings here are well preserved, and it seems that there are no traces of the war. Was it repaired after the war, or was it because there was no fierce fighting when this place was taken?"
Ning Zijing said: "I remember seeing the battle report at that time. It only mentioned that our army occupied Shenyang City, and did not mention the capture of the Tatar Emperor here. Then the other party must not have defended the imperial city, but before our army invaded here. He took the initiative to withdraw.”
Chen Yixin smiled and said: "Zijing's guess is good, and it is relatively close to the actual situation. As for the unfinished part about the siege battle, you can ask Sun Zhen later. He was the one who witnessed the whole process. How did Shenyang City be captured? Yes, he knows better than me.”
Sun Zhen quickly said politely: "It all depends on the strategizing and commanding of a few adults. They are just pawns in front of the battle, so they don't dare to be greedy for credit."
It was getting dark at this time, so the visit to the imperial city and palaces would be left to the next day. Sun Zhen hosted a banquet in the Phoenix Tower in the palace to welcome Bai Kesi and his entourage from afar.
Since Chen Yixin and Bai Kesi were both highly respected, those who participated in the banquet were also insiders. During the dinner, Bai Letong did not let Sun Zhen go, and asked him about the details of the original siege. Ning Zijing was also very interested in this period of history. He had already heard Chen Yixin break off at the key point, and he was already itching to bear it. Now he also echoed from the side and invited Sun Zhen to explain in detail how Shenyang City was breached by the Haihan Army. .
When Sun Zhen saw Chen Yixin slightly nodding, he stopped refusing and put down his glass of wine and said: "At that time, our army and the Qing army were in a stalemate below the city for more than a month. The Qing army's elite casualties were too high, and the troops that were subsequently pulled to the front line could not withstand it. The battle line was then Finally loosened up a bit.”
After the war of attrition between the two sides reached a certain level, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, who ultimately relied on human lives to fill the front lines, could no longer withstand it. Although the Qing army tried their best, they could not really cut off Haihan's supply line. On the contrary, as the battle lasted longer, Haihan's supply scale increased, and the number of artillery set up outside the city also increased day by day. Although the Qing army has been repairing and repairing the city defenses, it has gradually been unable to keep up with the Shanghai and Han armies' use of artillery to destroy city defenses.
Seeing that the decline was irreversible, the Manchu and Qing banners began to have their own plans. If Shenyang is lost, the Qing government can only continue to retreat north. Whichever flag has more armed forces left in its hands will have a greater say. Now that it has been determined that the Haihan Army cannot be defeated, then of course the next step is to conserve strength. We cannot all die here.
The power structure of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was based on tribal armed forces. As long as one family had selfish motives, cracks would inevitably appear in the camp. When fighting against the wind, each banner can gain benefits by sending troops, and such rifts can be covered up by victory. But when it comes to life and death, a crack is enough to tear the entire camp apart.
(End of chapter)