On July 6, the first year of Wuding, the Emperors of Kangxi and Qianlong left Hetuala with Hauge and Baksh (Note 1), the leaders of the Zhenglan Banner, and together with the brothers Dorgon Duduo led 20,000 troops, they started the battle against Qi.
The army set out from the capital city of Hetuala and marched towards Fushun in three routes: north, middle and south. On July 9, the Qing army arrived in the east of Fushun City and immediately launched a fierce attack on the remaining Qi army without any time to rest.
The Northern Expedition of the Southern Ming Dynasty and the Western Expedition of Korea, which coincided with the Qing army's attack on Qi, together constituted a series of grand wars in the first year of Wuding. Since the main battlefield of the battle was located in the Liaohe Plain (in Shenyang to be precise), later historians called it "Liao Shen" Battle" or "Decisive Battle of the First Year of Wuding".
The storm is about to come and the wind is filling the building.
On the official roads leading from cities in Liaodong to Liaoshen, sentries and horses were constantly coming and going, and a large number of refugees were flooding them. Liu Xingzuo sent out guards to investigate carefully and clean up those slave-building agents who tried to sneak into Liaoshen. The military information on the front lines in various places was urgently transmitted back to Shenyang. The Chinese military account was presented to the desks of Prime Minister Kang and General Qi.
~~~~
At the end of June, after two and a half months of hard work by 5,000 auxiliary troops and nearly 100,000 Liao civilians, the Liaohe defense system with Shenyang Zhongwei as the center finally took shape, and supporting soldiers from various places also entered the position one after another.
On July 1st, Handong commander Zhao Lijiao went through hardships and dangers and brought the five thousand remnant soldiers stationed in Japan back to Liaodong. Together with the troops who escaped from Korea, before the outbreak of the Liaoshen Campaign, the Guards returned to Shenyang. The total strength of each ministry, together with the original Liaodong garrison and town troops, reached 23,000.
The war was imminent. In order to maximize morale and maintain combat effectiveness, and avoid the chaotic situation of "the soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers", General Qi petitioned the court to allow the original Guards to be retained in its entirety, with fourteen branches. Legion, no matter how many troops are left in each department, it is best not to disband and merge.
Kang Yinggan readily agreed to Qi Shaobao's request (Qi Jin had been crowned Prince Shaobao). Not only that, under the instruction of Prime Minister Kang, on the second day of July, outside the main hall of the Shenyang Palace, Dongguan Zaisenti took thirty-two survivors. The training officer will award medals to the soldiers and officers who have made meritorious service in the escort.
On the second day of July, five ministers who took care of life gathered around the young emperor and entered the Tai Chi Hall. Empress Dowager Jin Yuji witnessed this extraordinary award ceremony with her own eyes through the curtain.
Qiao Yiqi, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped on the small bench and hung a Kaiyuan Special Class Honor Medal on Lin Yu's neck. Lin Yu, who was fully armored, quickly saluted Qiao Yiqi.
Lin Yu held the battle medal inlaid with a black dragon, symbolizing the highest honor of the Kaiyuan Army. There was no joy on his face, and there was not even a trace of emotion in his heart. The cold texture of the medal reminded the big man of those brothers. Their bodies were also so cold.
Qiao Shangshu imitated Emperor Wu Ding, patted the shoulder of this giant steel beast, and said with concern:
"Brother Lin, are you healed?"
Lin Yu nodded to Qiao Dazui, looked from the medal to the ground, and said in a deep voice:
"Don't worry, Minister Qiao, the general will guard the imperial city and won't let a Tatar in, unless the Tatars step on the corpse of the general..."
Qiao Yiqi looked at Lin Yu carefully. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that this giant was majestic and mighty and could be used in many ways. The gloom in his heart was swept away and he laughed loudly:
"Back in Kaiyuan, Emperor Wu Ding once told his officials that in case of danger, Kang Yingqian and Deng Changxiong'er could be used. If two more people were added to the list, they would be Lin Yu and Wu Xiao. The emperor was indeed right about you. Okay! good!"
After Qiao Yiqi finished speaking, he whispered to Lin Yu: "You are the lucky general beside the emperor. Don't say these depressing words again. After this battle, I will personally preside over the marriage between you and the Japanese beauty. You must live."
Qiao Yiqi jumped down from the small bench, turned around and awarded medals to Yang Tong, Wei Zhao, Han Chao and others. After the medals were awarded, Instructor Sen turned around and saluted the emperor and the empress dowager. Kang Yingqian nodded to Dongguan Zai, and Sen Ti stepped forward. , facing the decorated soldiers in front of him, shouted loudly:
"Brothers of the Guards! I am the training officer Senti. Everyone calls me Dongguan Zai in private. In fact, like Yuan Zhifu (Yuan Chonghuan), I am a serious Guangxi native. I am the same as all of you. My family was very poor when I was young. Magistrate Yuan took pity on me and took me in as a bookboy and gave me food and clothing. In fact, I didn’t know a word of the word at that time. Ten years ago, we, master and servant, went to Beijing to take the exam. Guangxi and Beijing were thousands of miles away, and we depended on each other. , I was almost killed by river bandits several times. When I arrived in the capital, because I was handsome, I was almost captured by Wei Zhongxian and stabbed in the palace to become an eunuch..."
The soldiers burst into laughter, and Lin Yu remembered what Shen Lian had told him before. When he first came to the capital as a royal guard, he was almost caught by Eunuch Wei and thrown into the honor room with a knife. It seemed that what Shen Baihu said was true.
"Later, we met Emperor Wu Ding. At that time, the emperor was still the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, so we followed Commander-in-Chief Liu and made great achievements. Later, everyone around us lived a good life, and the trackers recruited by Tianjin Guards became warriors. Soldiers became generals, had fields, and had clothes to wear. Even the poorest refugees also married wives in Kaiyuan, and they all lived a good life with wives and children on the hot bed."
There was light in the Chief Discipline's eyes, his expression suddenly turned sad, and soft sobs could be heard from around him.
"I have become your training officer and followed General Liu in his expeditions from Liaodong to Shandong and from Shandong to Japan. General Liu often told me that he wanted to take the high road and save the people of the world. We want all the suffering people in the world to have enough to eat, wear warm clothes, stop wandering, and no longer be oppressed by the government... But such a good emperor was finally besieged by bandits in the capital,"
When Senti said this, tears flowed out. Jin Yuji behind the curtain shed tears, and the palace maid handed over a handkerchief.
Kang Yingqian hesitated for a while, and finally let Dongguan Zai continue.
"I just got the news a few days ago that Magistrate Yuan died in Japan with the demon monk in order to allow the soldiers to withdraw safely. Not only Magistrate Yuan, many people around us have died in these years, but I still I'm still alive, and I can still stand here and watch you elite soldiers and generals defend Daqi and make great achievements."
Lin Yu's eyes were slightly red, and he couldn't help but respect the short and thin instructor in front of him.
"Du Du is coming, and so are the Korean soldiers. They all come to take revenge on us, Da Qi. Yes, you heard me right, these white-eyed wolves are coming for revenge."
"When Emperor Wu Ding captured Hetuala, he not only did not massacre Jianzhou, but also gave preferential treatment to Du Du and others. He hoped that converting Xia to barbarians would make them change their ways. Unexpectedly, these wolf-hearted people now see Daqi If we are in trouble, not only will they not help us, but they will also come to bite us! They say they want to wipe us out, and North Korea, which is a country of in-laws, is also trying to add insult to injury! They massacred Pido, and now they are crossing over from Sinuiju The Yalu River wants to massacre Kuandian!"
Seeing the soldiers around him clenching their fists and having veins bulging on their faces, Senti let out a long breath and roared at the soldiers:
"No matter you were soldiers of the First Army or the Fourteenth Army before! No matter you were soldiers, soldiers, cavalry, or artillery! No matter you came back from Japan or Henan! Now, you are all from Daqi Soldiers! Emperor Wu Ding said that the soldiers of Da Qi must march forward indomitably. Now, there are only four cities left in Liaodong. Your brothers, sisters, and parents are all in these four cities. Guard them and your home! "
Finally, Senti clenched his fist and punched it into the air, and his short body suddenly burst out with incredible energy.
"Fight for the emperor, fight for Da Qi!"
Lin Yu's emotions were completely ignited, and he raised his fists and roared:
"Fight for the emperor, fight for Da Qi!"
~~~~~~
July 7, Andingmen, Shenyang (Note 2).
During the Chinese Valentine's Day in previous years, there was no curfew in Liaodong, and there was even more carnival in Shenyang. Emperor Wu Ding liked to have fun with the people, and the civil affairs and training officers would also organize single soldiers in the army to participate in blind dates and other programs around the Chinese Valentine's Day.
Now that Emperor Wu Ding is no longer around, the Daqi Dynasty is in turmoil. Sharing joy with the people has turned into fighting the national crisis together, and blind dates have been put on hold for the time being. The scene inside and outside Shenyang is full of hard-working horses and fierce troops.
The distribution of troops garrisoned in the villages around Shenyang is as follows:
A total of 11,030 soldiers and auxiliary troops were stationed in Shenyang City and the forts, piers and barriers under its jurisdiction.
Among them, there are 7,200 officers and soldiers in Shenyang City, and a total of 1,885 soldiers are on guard duty at 31 side towers under the command of the Fourth Guards Army; Jingyuan Fort (Jingyuan Fort in Masanjiazi, Yuhong District) has 643 soldiers; Pinglu The fort (Pingluo, Yuhong District) has 470 soldiers; the Shangyulin Fort (Shangyulin, Jiefang Township, Yuhong District) has 499 soldiers.
The surrounding enemy towers surround Shenyang City like stars holding the moon. The enemy towers are also called enemy towers and hollow towers, ranging from two to three stories. The first floor is a solid platform higher than the wall, and hollow towers of one to two floors are built on it. The roof of the vault is built in the middle, and the surrounding galleries are corridors. There are arrow windows all around for soldiers to shoot arrows and fire cannons. There is also a small room in the middle for the guard officers and soldiers to live.
From Tieling to Fuzhou, for more than 500 miles north and south, beacon towers on surrounding mountaintops and side walls were urgently repaired. A large amount of wheat straw and firewood were stored in Taichung, and auxiliary troops were on guard day and night. According to the Kaiyuan Army's daily training, in case of If there is enemy sentiment, smoke will be set off during the day and fire will be lit at night.
When soldiers from the nearby beacon tower saw the fireworks, they immediately launched fireworks and cannons. They passed them from one to another like a relay, and soon conveyed the enemy's situation to the Shenyang base camp.
Kaiyuan military law stipulates: when you see one or two to more than a hundred enemies, fire one beacon and one cannon; when 500 enemies come, fire two beacons and two cannons; when you see more than a thousand enemies, fire three beacons and three cannons; If there are more than 5,000 enemies, four beacons and four cannons must be fired; if there are more than 10,000 enemy troops, five beacons and five cannons must be fired.
In this era, in addition to Tangma conveying military information, beacon towers played an important role in quickly detecting the strength of the invading enemy, quickly formulating plans to defend against the enemy, and deploying troops and generals.
In addition, soldiers were stationed at the Yinsunertai, Baojiatai, Niu Sanguan and other platforms along the Liao River border wall. These platforms are about 3.5 feet high and 40 feet in circumference. Each platform is guarded by 5 soldiers. Once the enemy attacks, pedestrians passing by will immediately enter the road platform to avoid.
······
The fortress defenses around Shenyang are almost armed to the teeth. Even the cities of Qinghe, Kaiyuan, Fushun and other cities that are destined to be abandoned have adopted a posture of fighting to the death. There are pitch-black logs erected on the crenellations of the city walls to confuse people. The enemies attacking the city had well-built garrison horses and trenches outside the city, but most of the soldiers inside the city had already withdrawn, leaving only empty cities with no appearance.
Note:
1. Bakshi (Manchu: ᠪᠠᡴᠰᡳ, transliterated by Mu Linde: Baksi) is also translated as Bangshi, Bashi, and Bangshi. It is a name shared by many ethnic groups such as Manchu, Mongolian, Uyghur, and Kazakh. Source "Doctor" in Chinese later became a title for scholars in the Qing Dynasty.
2. Shenyang City is affiliated to Liaoyang Zhongwei. It was established in the 20th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty and belongs to the Liaodong Dusi. Among the nine independent acropolises in Liao Town, Shenyang Zhongwei is the largest. "In the 21st year of Hongwu, Min Zhong, the commander of the city, built an old building. It was ten miles and thirty steps around, three feet wide outside, eight feet deep, and eleven miles around. There were two lines running north-south and east-west in Shenyang Zhongwei City. The main street crosses in the center of the Acropolis and connects four city gates: the south gate is called Baoan Gate, the west gate is called Yongchang Gate, the north gate is called Anding Gate, and the east gate is called Yongning Gate.
