Emperor Shunzhi's use of troops was completely beyond Shi Kefa's expectations!
Shi Kefa never expected that Emperor Shunzhi would be so hot-headed that he led 10,000 people out of Tianjin Guard to join forces with Baiyin Tu - Shunzhi was the emperor! And he's still so young and doesn't seem to have fought in any battles. How could he be so bold?
So on the night of the fifth day of the first lunar month, he learned that a large number of Qing troops were stationed in Tushizhuang at the junction of Qing County and Xingji County. His first reaction was that Tianjin sent reinforcements to the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield. Of course, he didn't know that Shunzhi only had more than 10,000 people around him. Even if he got such a report, he wouldn't believe it.
At this time, he also learned that the Qing army had deployed more than 20,000 people on the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield. This Qing army was an elite force, and they fought hard for a day with Huang Degong's troops without a winner.
If the Qing army on the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield received large reinforcements, then Huang Degong would probably be defeated!
And once Huang Degong's troops with more than 20,000 men were defeated miserably, the Eastern Northern Expedition Army commanded by Shi Kefa would be in big trouble.
Shi Kefa, who had gained experience in losing battles, already smelled a hint of failure at this time!
Therefore, Governor Shi did not dare to take risks, and immediately gave up the plan to attack Tianjin, and instead led his troops south to support Guanyintang-Huang Degong on the battlefield of Zhuangqiao Village.
No matter what, we must ensure that Huang Degong's troops do not suffer a disastrous defeat!
And just when Shi Kefa led two Ming army infantry divisions of nearly 25,000 troops and turned south to support Huang Degong at night, Emperor Shunzhi "inexplicably" turned around and headed north with most of his troops, retreating to Tianjin Guards.
This operation completely "fooled" Shi Kefa, and also made Baiyintu and his 20,000 troops suffer.
Because when Shi Kefa learned that the Qing army that had marched south from Tianjin Wei had turned around and headed north again, his army had already marched past Xingji County and entered Cangzhou. It was not far away from the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield. Of course, It was impossible to go back to fight Tianjin Guards, so we had to go south to clean up Baiyin Tu.
So Baiyintu is really miserable!
Before he joined Wu Keshan, he had received news that Emperor Shunzhi would personally lead ten thousand people to the south for reinforcements, so he planned another siege on Huang Degong (he thought it was Shi Kefa) the night before. In the early morning of the sixth day of the first lunar month, when he learned that Shunzhi had returned to Tianjin, his 20,000-strong army had already entered the frontier and started to contact the Ming army.
At this time, Wu Keshan came with a thousand people, and told him that Shunzhi was not coming and had returned to Tianjin Guard... Before long, the cavalry on guard in the north (the sentry cavalry in Baiyintu mainly released To the west and south (not paying much attention to the north) came in a panic again, bringing news that almost made him vomit blood.
Twenty to thirty thousand Ming army infantry came from the north, less than 30 miles away from the Guanyin Hall-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield!
There are twenty to thirty thousand Ming troops in the north, and there are at least twenty to thirty thousand Ming troops on the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield in front of us! Moreover, Baiyintu and the Ming army on the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield alone can no longer be dealt with. If another two to thirty thousand are added...can this battle still be fought?
"Here, what should I do?" Baiyintu didn't pay attention at all. Not to mention him, even Huang Taiji and Dorgon would have to vomit blood when they were resurrected!
Moreover, Emperor Shunzhi's fighting skills don't look like they were learned from Huang Taiji or Dorgon. They look like they were passed down from Emperor Chongzhen! Did he get the military book left by Chongzhen in the Forbidden City in Beijing?
The Qing Dynasty cannot live without Huang Amma!
Boom boom boom...
No one could answer Baiyintu's question, but they remembered a few gunshots. This was the firing of Huang Degong's 3-pounder gun.
In the battle on the fourth day of the first lunar month, the Qing army lost all 12 3-pound cannons, so only the Ming army could fire artillery on the Guanyintang-Zhuangqiao Village battlefield.
And the sound of artillery also means that the Ming army is about to launch an attack!
"It's better to retreat!" Wu Keshan said to Baiyin Tu, "We are surrounded from both sides and there is no way to fight!"
"How can it be so easy? A fight is about to start now, how can we retreat?" Baiyintu sighed, "Your Majesty, the Southern Army's cavalry is not weak now, so we won't be able to escape so easily... And where are we going to evacuate? Tianjin Guards probably won’t be able to go, right? We don’t have much military rations on hand!”
"Tianjin Wei will definitely not be able to go," Wu Keshan shook his head, "How about going to Hejian Fucheng?"
Baiyintu shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't work. Hejian Fucheng has been empty for a long time, and now it might be burned down by the Confederate Army!"
Because the population of Beizhili dropped significantly under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, industry and commerce also shrank sharply, and even cities of the level of Hejian Fucheng did not have many household registrations. After the Battle of Jieshi Mountain, Duduo took away a large number of households from the pass, and the households of the Ten Banners who stayed in the pass were also concentrated in heavily defended cities. A city like Hejian Prefecture, which is neither high nor low, Of course it becomes empty.
Now that the Ming army has invaded Beizhili, and is also destroying the governance of the prefectures and cities controlled by the Qing Dynasty everywhere, most of the Qing Dynasty officials guarding Hejian Prefecture have fled...
"Then just retreat to between Beijing and Tianjin!" Wu Keshan said, "There are many flag villages there, and we can always replenish military rations. If we run out of food halfway along the way, we must either slaughter the animals or go to the village. People, please borrow food!”
"Borrow" cannot be borrowed! Emperor Chongzhen couldn't borrow it back then, let alone the Qing Dynasty which is memorizing its characters now. What Wu Keshan said about "borrowing" actually meant grabbing it!
Baiyintu stamped his feet, "That's the only way it can be... My lord, you take the others and leave first, while Bambulshan and I will break up the rear together!"
Cutting off the rear is not a good job. Now the Ming army is very mobile, the infantry is not moving slowly, and there is also a group of mule soldiers with black guns. If they don't peel off a few layers of skin, how can it be so easy for the Qing army to run back? Moreover, the Qing army and the Ming army are in contact now! With this withdrawal, I really don’t know how many people will die!
Moreover, at this time, Baiyintu and Wu Keshan did not know that there was a Ming army group of more than 20,000 people on the battlefield in Beizhili, which was Gao Jie's command. Their main force had just passed through Dacheng County in Shuntian Prefecture, and the "black gun mule soldiers" led by Li Yuanyin as the vanguard had already bypassed the Triangle Lake to the west of Tianjin Wei and broke into Wuqing County between Tianjin and Beijing. Destroyed the Banner Farm in that area!
As soon as he returned to Tianjin Wei, Emperor Shunzhi, who was still a little shaken, learned from the officials who stayed behind that Wuqing County was "occupied" by the Ming army (in fact, the county seat was not occupied).
"What? What? Wuqing County also..."
The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who had just returned to his hometown, suddenly blurted out, "Your Majesty, what should I do?"
The ministers who followed him sighed in their hearts: Huang Ama can't come back! What to do with the Qing Dynasty?
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have good news, slaves." The ministers who stayed in Tianjin were headed by Grand Scholar Gang Atai. He still had good news to say, "The Emperor's uncle has entered the customs!"
"Uncle Emperor? He..." Emperor Shunzhi calmed down for a moment, "He, where is he?"
"We got a report last night that we were leading troops to Yutian." Gang Atai said, "I think we can reach Tongzhou today. So the emperor doesn't have to worry about losses in Beijing. He only needs to stay in Tianjin with peace of mind."
Stay in Tianjin? Shunzhi thought to himself: Waiting for the Ming army to knock down Tianjin City? When I die, he will be able to take the throne... What a good plan!
Emperor Shunzhi gritted his teeth and said: "I want to go back to Beijing!"
Gang Atai shook his head: "Your Majesty, we can't go back for the time being... The mule soldiers of the Southern Army are everywhere in the northwest of Tianjin Wei, and most of their brigades are also nearby. We have tens of thousands of people on hand, so we really have to take risks. If we go west, we are afraid of being defeated by the Confederate Army!"
"That's right!" Sony, who was already a little worried, said, "Your Majesty, the Tianjin Guard City is well-supplied and well-supplied, enough to defend it. And with the Emperor's uncle leading troops outside, Shi Kefa will not dare to stay near the Tianjin Guard for a long time."
Shunzhi looked at the two "honest slaves" Sony and Gang Atai, and thought: If Duduo didn't come to the pass, Shi Kefa might not dare to besiege Tianjin, but now...what else does Shi Kefa have to worry about? Who else dares to come to save me?
Emperor Ama, what should I do?
()
