On May 28, the fifty-third year of Qianlong's reign, it was the fourth day that the Northern Navy launched its offensive.
Since the war started, the post road from Jilin to Shengjing has become lively. Reports from Jilin are coming in an endless stream every day, and the postmen at the stations along the way no longer have the leisure they used to have.
The road for more than 770 miles is full of rugged hills and mountains. This post road, known as the "Imperial Road", was built and widened since the 21st year of Kangxi's eastward tour. There are regular earth walls nearly one foot high on both sides of the road, and wooden signs are erected every five miles. , with the mileage to various places in the north and south marked on it.
Li Changshun is a postman at Mongolia Heluo Station, which is the fourth stop on the post road from Fengtian to Jilin Ula. The entire post road has a total of twelve stops. In the evening, Li Changshun had just finished feeding the horse and was going to smoke a cigarette when he heard the sound of copper bells coming from the north of the post road again.
"Quick! Get the horse out! If you're late, you'll be whipped!" Li Changshun shouted to a postman in a hurry. After saying that, he turned back to the kitchen and took out a bag of dry food and a gourd filled with water that had been prepared long ago.
Since the fourth year of Qianlong's reign, all imperial edicts or urgent messages have been delivered by changing horses without changing people; for ordinary documents, the delivery method is a station-by-stop baton format, and is registered through order tickets and horse delivery tickets.
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure appeared on the north post road, getting closer and closer. "Jilin Military News~~" The official on the horse shouted loudly when he saw Mongolia and Luo standing watching.
At this time, a postman had already led the horse and was waiting outside the door of the post station. Li Changshun put the dry food bag and water hyacinth into the saddle bag. When everything was ready, the messenger had already arrived in front of the inn door. He pulled the reins with a "hush" and stopped, then raised his hand and took out the Kanhe from his arms to signal. Li Changshun and his two companions quickly stepped forward and first checked the seal for closing. After confirming that it was correct, the three of them lifted the messenger from the horse together, and then moved it to the prepared horse. The messenger didn't waste any time after he was seated securely. He loosened the reins, sat down, and the horse bolted out. In the blink of an eye, he was dozens of steps away.
"I said, how many Jilin Military News is this today?"
Li Changshun said casually: "The seventh copy. We are really bleeding a lot this month. You are a bastard rebel. Why are you messing around!"
The reason why he said this was because the postmen in the Qing Dynasty had no salary and relied entirely on subsidized land allocated by the court for farming. If the money for firewood for the horses is not paid in time, the postman will have to pay for it himself. In addition, they have to endure reminders from the management station and exploitation in writing, making life extremely difficult. The reason why Li Changshun became a station officer was not because he wanted to, but because his father was a prisoner who was exiled to Shangyang Fort and he had no choice.
A few people were waiting to lead their horses back when they heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the south again. But this time it wasn't one horse, but a group of horses.
Li Changshun used his hands to build a tent and looked around, then hurriedly said to his companions: "Go and ask the two adults to come out, the high officials are here!"
Not long after, after receiving the news, the Mongolian and Luo Station Manager Bi Tie Shi and the leader were all dressed neatly and came to wait outside the door of the post station. The two of them looked at the flag that was getting closer and closer, thinking that that person was back again.
A group of more than thirty cavalrymen came, most of them wearing helmets and wearing unusual colors. The leader of the tall horse is a young general with a stern face, a mustache on his lips, a half-smiling look, and a bit of arrogance in his expression; the hat is a genuine third-grade blue hat. The crystal glazed top is equipped with a single-eyed flower feather, a brocade leopard with eight pythons and four claws, and a lambskin cloak.
Behind this general, there are more than a dozen fifth- and sixth-grade generals and a group of Goshiha's soldiers, all of whom are muscular and muscular. The careful Guan Zhan posted a message and discovered that there was actually a green camp general in rank 5 uniform among the team. This is really strange. He has been stationed at the inn for so many years, but he has never seen an officer from the Green Camp.
When everyone stopped their horses, everyone waiting at the door of the station knelt down and saluted.
"This is a humble job, sir!"
"Everyone, get up!" The leading officer jumped off his horse and urged the leader who came up to him: "Hurry up and feed and drink your horses. We will leave in two-quarters of an hour."
The leader said with a flattering look on his face: "Sir, Marshal Fu..."
The general said: "The large group of troops is still behind and will arrive in half an hour. I and you guys are responsible for the front line."
After the military commander finished speaking, he turned to the military attaché in the green camp uniform behind him and said, "Mr. Yang Qian, could you please follow me to see the horse feed? Don't feed my horse with rotten grass."
The leader was startled when he heard this, and quickly waved his hands and said: "Sir, you don't dare to kill a villain. They are all fine ingredients mixed with salt, and you definitely don't dare to fool them."
The general ignored the warning and looked at the Green Camp military attaché. The military attaché known as "Mr. Yang Qian" respectfully slapped him with a thousand, then got up and went to the stable. But when he walked into the yard of the inn, a wry smile appeared on his face unconsciously.
His name is Yang Yuchun, a native of Chongzhou, Sichuan, and he is 29 years old. Earlier, his family was also a wealthy family. Unfortunately, when he was sixteen, his father offended the local gentry and was falsely accused and imprisoned, causing the family to fall into ruin.
Yang Yuchun studied since he was a child, and later turned to martial arts. When he was seventeen years old, he was selling chickens in Chengdu Fucheng. He happened to pass by a martial arts gym in Mancheng and saw several bannermen teenagers testing their bows. Yang Yuchun's hands were itchy, so he stepped forward and asked to try it. Everyone disagreed at first, but because he spoke politely and seemed knowledgeable, they agreed.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yuchun superimposed three 100-pound bows on the field and pulled them out five times in a row, which immediately caused a sensation in the entire martial arts hall. You must know that the most powerful Manchu general at that time was Baturu Hailancha from Sauron, who could only pull a 230-pound bow.
After Yang Yuchun tried the bow, he went on to sell chickens. When the master of the martial arts school came back, he was shocked when he heard about it. He immediately went out and found him on the street and offered to recruit apprentices to teach him his skills. The master of the martial arts school was originally the martial arts instructor of the Yue family in Chengdu, and the Yue family was the family of Yue Zhongqi, who was once praised by Qianlong as "the giant military official of the three dynasties".
Given such an opportunity, Yang Yuchun would certainly not let it go. He kowtowed and became his disciple on the spot. Two years later, during the martial arts examination, he easily pulled a 240-pound bow and shot through three targets with one arrow. This shocked the audience and was directly appointed as the fifth-grade material officer of Sichuan Governor-General Biaozheng. Later, he was appreciated by Fukang'an and was transferred into the army. He then participated in the Hirata Five Rebellion and the Battle of Platform, and was promoted to Qian Zongzong based on his meritorious service.
Don't think that Mr. Qian is just a sixth-grade man. This is Mr. Qian of the Qing Dynasty's economic army, and he is much better than the fifth-grade reservist.
Historically, in the late Qianlong period, the fiercest battle Yang Yuchun fought was against Fukang'an against Gurkha. He led 200 Chengdu Green Camp soldiers to defend the Henghe Iron Bridge and repelled 21 attacks by 3,600 Kuo troops. It was definitely a bloody battle. By the way, the British officer corps was leading the Kuo army at that time.
But in this time and space, Marshal Fu was appointed again by Qianlong to deal with Beihai Town, and Yang Yuchun's fate also changed.
Although Fukangan was optimistic about him and took him out of Fujian after consulting Qianlong, some of the Eight Banners generals under Marshal Fu couldn't stand it and often deliberately made things difficult for him. Yang Yuchun repaid Marshal Fu's kindness, so since he left Shanhaiguan, he had always swallowed his anger and acted cautiously.
At this time, forty miles away, the rear of Fukang'an's group had just passed Weiyuan Fort, while the head of the group was only twenty miles away from Mongolia and Luo Station.
Marshal Gu Changfu was still sitting in his big sedan chair, and the thirty-six bearers were changing at any time on the road. But at this time, Fukang'an looked calm, and the military report from Jilin in his hand was almost crushed by his fingers.
"Go out in two directions, advance by sea and land. Huh, it's really a good idea."
On the fifth day of the war, as military reports from the front continued to come together, Fukang'an believed that he had finally seen clearly what Beihai Town was doing, and he also believed that Zhao Xinyi was in Jilin City. After all, if you occupy Jilin City, you can threaten Shengjing in the south, thereby breaking the Qing army's defense in the Changbai Mountain area; if you go north, you can threaten the Qing army in Heilongjiang, and at the same time, you can gain tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land. Why not? No.
In fact, in Fukang'an's view, Qinggui's blindly adopting a defensive strategy in the military would not work. To deal with Beihai Town, we have to keep attacking. Even if we use human lives to replace them, we still have to consume Zhao Xin's men. The Jilin General Mansion now has tens of thousands of troops under its jurisdiction, and taking a defensive stance is simply a waste of money and food from the court. To deal with Beihai Town, you have to adopt a hit-and-run strategy, constantly using harassment tactics to gradually consume the opponent's troops. When Zhao Xin's troops cannot keep up, he clenches his fists and attacks.
The problem is that the Eight Banners only have a few hundred thousand Dingkou in total. If he really wants to follow Fukang'an's strategy, I don't know how many families in the city will wear Xiao; and the internal resistance from the Eight Banners will not allow him to do so. Therefore, if you want to destroy Beihai Town, you must use the Green Battalion; at worst, you can fight and recruit troops at the same time. Counting the Eight Banners, Manchu, Mongolian and Han people, the total population is only over 500,000, but there are hundreds of millions of Han people.
When he traveled north from Fujian to Beijing to see his Majesty, he proposed a new military plan to Qianlong, which was also the result of his hard thinking over the past two years.
With the northern part of the Li Dynasty as the base and the Tumen River as the natural defense line, it could take the sea route from Shandong or the land route from Shanhaiguan. Commercial sand ships along the Jiangnan coast were conscripted to provide supplies to the Qing army, that is, they were transported from Niuzhuang to the northern part of the Li Dynasty. As a result, the Qing army's logistics supply line was much shorter.
Qianlong thought deeply about Fukang'an's plan, discussed it with the military minister and bachelors for several days, and finally decided to adopt this plan. In fact, Qianlong also understood that if he wanted to eliminate Beihai Town, he could not rely solely on the power of the Eight Banners. If the Eight Banners are almost completed, if the Han people get into chaos again, the Qing Dynasty may really be in danger!
So when Fukang'an asked Qianlong to take Yang Yuchun out of the customs, Qianlong agreed on the spot.
As for whether Li Chao objected, no one from Qianlong or the military ministers cared. Since the "Six Envoys' Interrogation Incident" more than a hundred years ago, Li Chao has been very obedient, doing whatever he is told and not daring to criticize at all. Of course, some benefits still have to be given.
Speaking of the "Six Envoys' Interrogation Incident", it was a heavy blow to the Li Dynasty's monarchs and ministers, enough to break bones and muscles, and they no longer dared to defy the Manchus.
It is said that during the "Battle of Bingzi", King Li Zhu of North Korea ran to Namhan Mountain City and was surrounded for more than 40 days before surrendering. He knelt three times and kowtowed to Huang Taiji at Santian Ferry on the south bank of the Han River. His sons Zhaoxian Crown Prince Li Fu and Li Hao were also taken to Shenyang as hostages.
Later, although North Korea sent troops to assist the Manchus in the Songjin War, they secretly had an affair with the Ming army and provided food, grass and money. Cui Mingji, who had represented the king in Nanhan Mountain City to negotiate peace, was the main contact person. After Hong Chengchou was captured and surrendered, he told the story. So the Manchu Qing Dynasty was furious and ordered Prince Zhaoxian, who had been living in Shenyang for a long time as a hostage, to return to Seoul. He also asked the accompanying Qing envoy to order the Korean King Li Zhu to go out of the city to greet him.
The problem is that the father's welcoming of his son is inconsistent with Confucian etiquette, and it also implies that the Qing Dynasty's emissaries are angels. Therefore, the courtiers and officials of the Yangban Dynasty in Korea who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty hated this. Soon, Prince Sohyeon was poisoned and killed in Changdeokgung Palace just a few days after returning to Seoul. A few years later, Li Hao, the great king of Fenglin, succeeded to the throne as Xiaozong.
The six envoys' interrogation happened after Hong Chengchou surrendered and betrayed the Li Dynasty. Huang Taiji sent six officials headed by Gushan'er Zhenying Erdai to go to the Li Dynasty to pursue accountability. General Cui Mingji and other North Korean ministers were escorted to Phoenix City for interrogation. They were finally found guilty and escorted to Shenyang for detention.
This survey lasted for four years, which greatly shocked the Joseon court and created a situation where everyone was in danger. Under the strong pressure of the Qing court, it was a foregone conclusion that the Li Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty would turn against each other. Later, when the Ming warships approached the North Korean coast again, North Korea implemented the policy of "no answering, no food, and no access to the shore" and escorted the nine captured Ming soldiers to Shenyang.
So in the 11th and 14th years of Shunzhi, Qing envoys arrived in Seoul twice and ordered Li Chao to recruit musketry soldiers to help deal with Rakshasa. Li Chao obediently sent more than 400 troops and horses to participate in the "Battle of Houtongjiang" and "Battle of Humar".
After Qianlong agreed to Fukang'an's plan, he moved very quickly. When Marshal Fu set out from Shengjing, the envoy from the Lifan Yuan who was going to the Li Dynasty, accompanied by the Li Dynasty's envoy in Beijing, had already crossed the Yalu River.
At this moment, in the Beihai Navy camp on the west bank of the Tumen River and five miles north of Qianyuanpu, an official wearing the official uniform of the Li Dynasty was protesting to Deng Fei.
"Sir Deng, I have been ordered by Mr. Yin to ask your army to withdraw from our territory..."
After the official named Jin Li Chao Bu Bu Bu finished speaking, Deng Fei said: "What if I don't retreat?"
"I am trying to persuade you with good words, and Mr. Li from Qingxing Mansion has treated you with courtesy before. If your army does not listen to your advice, when my king's soldiers arrive, there may be something unbearable to say."
Deng Fei said with a look of sudden realization: "Oh! So you are going to declare war on Beihai Town."
When the official surnamed Jin heard this, his beard trembled with anger. How could he let go of such an excuse? So he said angrily: "It's obviously you who have occupied our country's territory. How can you beat me up and talk nonsense?!"
Deng Fei waved his hand and said with a smile: "I told you before, I'm borrowing it for a few days." He frowned and thought for a while, then said: "Let's do it, at most ten days, and we promise to leave within ten days."
The official surnamed Jin sighed helplessly, put on a pitiful look and said: "Master Deng, if you act like this and let the emperor of the Qing Dynasty know about it, our country cannot afford to suffer! I beg you, break up the camp and leave. Bar."
Deng Fei felt a little funny when he saw that the other party was only in his early forties and called himself an old man. He stretched out two fingers to indicate, and said: "Two hundred taels of silver, ten days, what do you think?"
The official named Jin remained expressionless, just staring at Deng Fei.
"Five hundred taels?"
The official surnamed Jin's eyebrows twitched, as if he was having a cramp.
Deng Fei slapped the table and said: "Eight hundred taels, no more!"
The official surnamed Jin stretched out his hand and said: "Pay the money first!"
