Heavy snowfall was falling, and the first heavy snowfall after winter began in Hebei Province actually fell in early November (lunar calendar). There was a heavy snowfall that didn't stop for three or four days. The temperature has already dropped below freezing point. The originally dry and hard roads are completely covered with snow, and the mountains, rivers and fields are all white.
Such heavy snow and such a cold winter, even to the point of being covered with thousands of miles of snow and thousands of miles of ice, did not stop the rolling wheel of history from driving towards the Qing Dynasty of Emperor Kangxi, nor did it stop the Ming Dynasty that lasted for more than sixty years. The chaos of the Qing Dynasty finally came to an end.
Outside the city of Linqing Prefecture in the northwest corner of Shandong Province, tens of thousands of Qing troops lined up neatly with their backs against the Grand Canal, forming neat vertical and horizontal formations. Before every formation of the Qing army, there was a tall flag bearer holding a fluttering dragon flag. These dragon flags are divided into five colors: yellow, white, red, blue and cyan. Among them, the four-color dragon flags of yellow, white, red and blue are divided into two types: bordered and unbanded, which respectively symbolize the Eight Banners soldiers who supported the Qing Dynasty. and Green Battalion.
The snowflakes are like weaving, and the new wind is like a knife. In this snowstorm, nearly 70,000 Qing troops were on foot and on horseback, braving the wind and snow, carrying flintlock guns and surrounding red-coated cannons, preparing to fight for their homeland. The emperor in the coffin fights the final battle!
Opposite them, less than two miles away, 50,000 Ming army tiger warriors wearing bright red uniforms also launched their own killing array amidst the howling north wind and heavy snow!
After several days of rapid march, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion of the Ming Army finally blocked the defeated Qing army of more than 70,000 people who were heading north along the canal line near Linqing Prefecture City on the second day of November.
The Qing army led by Chang Ning and Queen Yang came all the way, but they were blocked in front and pursued by soldiers behind. It was really not easy!
And that's not the worst part. Since many of the counties that were originally ruled by the Qing Dynasty along the way north have changed their flags and returned to the Ming Dynasty, it was difficult for the troops led by Chang Ning and Queen Yang to get supplies and rest along the way. And they did not dare to waste time attacking cities that did not have much defensive capabilities. After all, the Ming Dynasty's pursuers were closely behind them. There was at most dozens of miles between the two sides. If they marched in a hurry, they could reach them in half a day.
Fortunately, Koqili Foniqi, who was guarding Linqing Prefecture's capital, was a Manchu veteran who had participated in the Qing Dynasty's entry into the Pass. He was an old man who had fought against Hong Chengchou, Li Zicheng, and Li Dingguo. It can be said that we have seen the building of Manchuria rise before our eyes, and we have seen the building of Manchuria collapse before our eyes. Such a Manchu veteran general whose hands are stained with the blood of the Ming people will certainly not surrender to the Ming Dynasty. So Chang Ning and Queen Yang's army finally got a castle where they could stay.
However, the day after Chang Ning and Queen Yang's troops entered the city of Linqing Prefecture, a large group of troops from the Eighth Army of the Ming Army crossed the Laozhang River in the northwest of Linqing Prefecture and appeared on the west bank of the canal west of the city of Linqing Prefecture. area!
At the same time, the pursuit troops of more than 100,000 Ming troops also arrived at the south bank of the Majia River, thirty or forty miles south of Linqing Prefecture, and set up camp around Qingping County. At the same time, engineers were dispatched to start building a pontoon bridge on the Majia River - - There were several wooden bridges on the Majia River, but they were all destroyed when Chang Ning and Queen Yang passed by. In addition, the weather is too cold now, which is not suitable for fording. Therefore, the Ming army had to spend some time building a few pontoon bridges before they could advance to the vicinity of Linqing Prefecture City.
And this little time - only a day or two at most, for Chang Ning and Queen Yang, is the last window of time to defeat the Ming army and escape to heaven!
If they could cross the Majia River before the pursuing Ming army and repel the 50,000 Ming army on the west bank of the canal before approaching Linqing Prefecture, they could cross the Laozhang River and escape north.
Otherwise, they would either be trapped in Linqing Prefecture and wait for help, or they would have no choice but to head north along the east bank of the Grand Canal. Both of these strategies are very dangerous!
Standing still and waiting for help is definitely waiting for death, because this is not "waiting for help" at all, but waiting for the Ming army to come for help! The Ming army deployed hundreds of thousands of troops in Shandong! Once Chang Ning and Queen Yang are surrounded, who will dare to come to the rescue?
As for running along the canal, it’s not okay!
Because the Qing army can run on the east side of the canal, the 50,000 Ming army on the other side of the canal can also run on the west side of the canal. Let’s race together! Can the Qing army outrun the Ming army? Can't run at all! This is not a question of long legs and short legs, but a question of whose side is the general trend of the world!
If the situation in the world is clear again, wherever Chang Ning and Queen Yang go, there will be people to feed and drink to welcome Master Wang, so they can just run.
But if the general trend of the world is clear, then the 50,000 Ming army on the west bank of the canal will be the king's division. Of course the powerful towns and landowners along the way wanted to welcome them as kings! Along the way, there were food, drink, and warm houses to stay in. There were also dedicated militiamen who helped harass the Qing army and demolished the roads and bridges in front of the Qing army.
Therefore, after thinking about it for a whole night, Chang Ning, Queen Yang and their generals finally made the only right choice - a last-ditch battle!
At noon on the morning of the third day of October, in the midst of a snowstorm, 50,000 Ming troops and 70,000 Qing troops had already set up their battle formations, and a decisive battle was about to begin.
Yang Xiaomi, who was actually Empress Dowager Yang but still wore the name of Empress Yang, took Emperor Kangxi, who was already lying down, to wait for him with Chen Tingjing, Fo Nicheng, Gao Shiqi, Li Guangdi, Liang Jiucheng, and Zhao Chang. The west gate tower of Cheongju Castle. Moreover, the square yellow dragon flag symbolizing the Qing Emperor was also displayed!
Yang Xiaomi turned his head and looked at the coffin where Kangxi was, and sighed softly: "Your Majesty, you must protect the fifth master from winning! If the fifth master is defeated this time, your Qing Dynasty will be destroyed." But he is the king of the Qing Dynasty!"
Although Emperor Kangxi was physically dead, because Empress Chang Ning and Empress Yang came without mourning, he is still alive in the history books!
If the Qing Dynasty cannot pass the current hurdle, then he will be the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, a proper king of subjugation. Don't even think about the temple title of "Holy Ancestor", it would be nice to have "Ai Zong" as its title.
At the same time, Chang Ning, who was immediately standing on a wooden bridge on the canal, watching the 50,000 Ming army arrayed from a distance, also took a deep breath of cold and biting air, and said loudly to the left and right: "Fire all the cannons." Fire together and shoot out all the shells!"
There is not much left after they are all beaten out. After the fight is over, they can only withstand the Ming army's fierce shelling, rifled gun fire, and the hollow bullets fired by smoothbore guns to charge with infantry and cavalry!
As soon as Chang Ning finished speaking, a row of large and small fires flashed across the front of the Ming army's front, and then there was a roar like rolling thunder. Dozens of black dots moved toward the Qing army's formation in front of Chang Ning at a speed visible to the naked eye. Fly over!
The Battle of Linqing, which will determine whether Kangxi will fight as the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, has officially begun!
On the second day of November, Beijing, the imperial capital of the Qing Dynasty, was now shrouded in a white snowstorm.
However, no matter how heavy or fierce the wind and snow are, it will not have much impact on the production and life of this big city, Beijing. Because as early as when Suo'etu, Bandi, Biliketu, Yang Qilong and others left Beijing with nearly 80,000 troops to go on the expedition, of course, a total of sixteen city gates in Beijing, including nine inner and nine outer gates, had been closed until now. It has never been opened again!
Those Eight Banners brothers and sisters in Beijing who were no longer full of blood, although they were not surrounded by the Ming army, were under the orders of Bumu Butai, the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty who ruled the city. The city is a prison.
The reason why the old queen mother issued such an order is of course because the city is now in extreme weakness!
In order to save the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi and Empress Dowager Bumubutai have mobilized the city of Beijing twice. Almost all the strong men of the banner men who can take up arms to fight have gone out to fight, and even the Han Green Camp soldiers have He was dragged away by Yang Qilong.
Currently, there are only a few guards and bodyguards left in the flag army in Beijing. Because there are not enough troops to guard the nine gates in the inner city of Beijing, Bumubutai has to recruit the eunuchs from the palace and those who work as errands from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The coated slaves were armed and asked to guard the nine gates of the inner city of Beijing and the four gates of the imperial palace.
As for the defense of the outer city of Beijing, where there are still 200,000 to 300,000 Han people living there, it can only be left to Zhang Yong and Zhang Yunyi and his son. Although Yang Qilong took away all the green soldiers patrolling the fifth battalion from their hands, he could There were still some Han Chinese serving as soldiers, so the Zhang family and his sons could only temporarily recruit thousands of unemployed vendors and craftsmen to barely fill up the five patrol battalions. Relying on these temporarily recruited green soldiers, order in the outer city of Beijing was finally maintained. And the Six Gates of Beijing are finally guarded.
Although the city is barely guarded, the streets of the inner and outer cities are extremely deserted. The inner city has been under martial law since Suo'etu and the others went out to fight. Except for soldiers and officials, there are almost no people on the streets of Beijing's inner city. .
As for martial law in the outer city, it is not necessary. After all, the two to three hundred thousand Han people in the outer city have no hard-core crops to eat! If we really don't let people go out to make a living, can the old lady still give them food?
But since all the gates inside and outside Beijing are closed, the two to three hundred thousand Han people really have nothing to do. They have to stay at home behind closed doors, eat rice, and wait to starve to death whenever they run out!
However, these Beijing Han people who sit at home and eat old rice do not know that things in Beijing will soon change!
The Yongding Gate gate tower in the outer city of Beijing is actually a bit heavily guarded at this time. On the gate tower and inside the gate, there are all patrols dressed in warm clothes, holding flintlock guns and waist knives. The green soldiers of the fifth battalion.
And looking at the gun-holding postures and military postures of these green soldiers, they look nothing like the traders, craftsmen, and vagrants who were just recruited.
These green soldiers also set up defenses and blockades on the streets inside Yongdingmen, and even built barricades, as if they were preparing for street fighting. It’s just that the front of this barricade seems to be facing Zhengyangmen in the inner city of Beijing!
At this time, Zhang Yong, who had weak legs and feet, was sitting leisurely on a soft couch inside the Yongding Gate Tower. He was also watching a red clay stove and a small table, with a fire burning on the stove. A large pot of mutton soup and the aroma of mutton floated inside the huge city gate tower.
Zhang Yong's son Zhang Yunyi is sitting on the other side of the table, holding a large bowl of steamed buns in mutton soup and enjoying it! While he was enjoying the meal, the door to the city gate tower was suddenly pushed open, and a cold wind mixed with snowflakes blew in, making Zhang Yunyi shiver. He took another sip of mutton soup to warm himself up, and turned around. Glancing at the gate, I saw a young military attache wearing a well-dressed suede and satin jacket with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks walking in quickly, with an excited look on his face.
"I see, you're here?" Zhang Yunyi put down the big bowl and waved to the military attaché, "Come here, have a bowl of mutton soup to warm yourself up."
While talking, Zhang Yunyi picked up a porcelain bowl and a spoon, scooped out a bowl of mutton soup for the military attache, then picked up the chopsticks, picked up a large piece of mutton from the soup pot, and handed it to the military attaché with a smile. A young military attache with a lot of snowflakes on his clothes and hat.
This young military attache is a Qianzong general under Zhang Yong. His surname is Yue, and his given name is Shenglong. His nickname is Jianzhi. He is from Lintao, Gansu Province, and was transferred to Beijing from Gansu along with Zhang Yong and Zhang Yunyi.
"Thank you for the mutton soup, uncle!" Yue Shenglong reached out and took the soup bowl and took a big sip. Then he smiled and said to Zhang Yong and Zhang Yunyi, "Junmen, uncle is here!"
"Who is here?" Zhang Yong, who had his eyes squinted as if he was resting, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Yue Shenglong with bright eyes.
"Our Beiyang Army's infantrymen are here, marching in the wind and snow, it's really great!" Yue Shenglong put down the soup bowl, then raised his thumb and said, "They are less than 20 miles away from Yongdingmen! "
"Okay!" Zhang Yong said with a grin, "When you see it, go and light the fire, so that the master knows that Yongding Gate is in our hands!"
"Yes!"
Yue Shenglong answered loudly, then saluted and rushed out of the gate of the city gate tower like flying.
Zhang Yong turned back to his son Zhang Yunyi and said, "Yunyi, who is guarding Zhengyang Gate today?"
"It's Cao Yin."
Zhang Yong nodded: "Good Yun Yi, I'll take ten pistol soldiers to cheat!"
"Okay!" Zhang Yunyi nodded seriously, then swallowed his bowl of mutton soup, and strode out of the city gate tower.
"Pa bang bang my lord, my lord."
Yang Qilong, who was huddled in a four-wheeled carriage with a heater, closing his eyes and concentrating, was first startled by a rapid knock on the door. He opened his eyes, turned around and saw that it was Zhao Liangdong knocking on the door.
He hurriedly opened the car door and asked quickly: "Qingzhi, what's going on up front?"
"My lord, there is a fire beside the Yongding Gate Tower!"
Zhao Liangdong said to Yang Qilong with a look of surprise, "This is the secret code we agreed with Zhang Junmen... Yongding Gate is now in the hands of our people!"
"Thank God!" Yang Qilong also breathed a sigh of relief.
With the few men and firepower in his hands, it would be very difficult to storm Beijing.
Even if Bumbutai didn't have many soldiers in his hands, as long as he could close the city gate and dismantle the wooden bridge on the moat. Yang Qilong's army was unable to enter the city within a few days... The walls of Beijing were too high and the moat was too wide!
In fact, Yang Qilong was not good at attacking cities, so he simply arranged an internal response early - the paralyzed general Zhang Yong.
This paralyzed general looks very reliable. There have never been any cases of paralyzed men rebelling in the past, right?
Therefore, after Emperor Kangxi took away Yang Xiaomi's power of regency, he did not replace the paralyzed Nine Gate Admiral.
And these two times when the Manchu and Qing Dynasties sent out troops, no one named him as a general - he was so old, and he couldn't ride a horse or walk, so he had to ride in a sedan when going to the battlefield.
No one has the heart to take him to fight against the Heavenly Soldiers!
As for Bumbutai, before the 50,000 Mongolian cavalry were dispatched, he was not worried about Zhang Yong's rebellion at all.
Zhang Yong's fifth patrol battalion only has 5,000 men. How can it be a match for 50,000 Mongolian cavalry?
After the 50,000 Mongolian cavalry were dispatched, the old lady was no longer worried about Zhang Yong's rebellion.
Everyone knows that Zhang Yong is Empress Dowager Yang’s man! Empress Dowager Yang is now taking over all the power. How can Zhang Yong rebel?
Therefore, the old Queen Mother was quite relieved and continued to let him be the Admiral of the Nine Sects...
But he never expected that this Zhang Yong and his accomplice Yang Qilong would not play according to the routine at all!
…
Forbidden City, Cining Palace.
Although the old lady Bumu Butai did not expect that Yang Qilong and Zhang Yong would rebel, she already felt that something bad was going on... because when she fell asleep last night, her old prime minister Dorgon slipped in from the Prince of Hell to entrust him with a dream .
In the dream, Bumbutai held Dorgon's hand and cried to him, asking him to come out and help!
But Dorgon told her that Ming Dynasty was now blessed by God! Even if Dorgon is resurrected, he will not be able to turn the tide.
Dorgon also asked Bumbutai to quickly take Baoqing and leave Beijing, go to the Western Regions, and go to Taiping Valley...Only when they get there can the Qing Dynasty retain some blood and incense.
And you have to go fast! If you walk too slowly, you may never be able to walk again.
Because this dream was so real, Bumbutai was in a very dazed state today.
After breakfast, I have been holding Dorgon's memorial tablet in Cining Palace and crying, still muttering: "Dorgon, you are the best to the Ai family... The Ai family can't help you!
If you were still here, why would the Qing Dynasty be like this? Fulin will not lose his life, and Xuan Ye will be happy...it's all the Ai family's fault! "
When the old lady was feeling sad, her most trusted "aunt" Sumala suddenly walked in quickly with a look of panic on her face. Seeing your old lady crying while holding Dorgon's memorial tablet, you quickly said to her: "The Empress Dowager... someone seems to be shooting outside the palace!"
"What?" Bumbutai was stunned for a moment, then listened attentively, and vaguely heard gunshots and shouts!
"This..." Bumbutai looked at Aunt Sumala in horror, "Quick, let people prepare chariots and horses to protect..."
(End of chapter)
