On June 18, the fifty-third year of Qianlong's reign, it rained heavily outside Hunchun City.
The siege has entered its seventeenth day. The fortifications set up by the Qing army on the mountains to the east, south and north of Hunchun City were reduced to ruins one after another amidst the rumble of artillery fire from the Northern Navy. Amid the smoke, the silhouettes of the North Korean navy's offensive troops appeared and disappeared.
The artillery on the Qing army's defense line no longer dared to show off its power in public. There are ramps and shelters behind all the gun emplacements. When the North Sea does not come up, they will wait in the shelter. They will not be pushed out until they are two miles closer to the North Sea. If they fire two or three guns in a hurry, they will have to retreat immediately. , otherwise the North Navy's artillery shells would be like having eyes, and a few rounds would blow the cannon to pieces. This has happened several times.
The rain made the trenches of the Qing army muddy and slippery. It was summer, but the temperature was not even ten degrees. The helmets and foam-studded cotton armor soaked by the rain became cold and heavy, but even so, no one dared to take them off; they might be able to block a stray bullet flying from nowhere at some point.
The heavy muskets were also cold to hand. In order to prevent the rain from getting the matchlocks and gunpowder pools wet, most Qing troops only hurriedly loaded and fired when the Northern Navy appeared in sight. All the musketeers hid the horn pots containing gunpowder in their arms to keep them dry. If the supervisory team sent by the Chinese army found that someone's gunpowder could not be ignited, they would directly drag him down and beat him with twenty army sticks.
In such weather, archery is affected. Not only does it affect accuracy, bowstrings tanned with tendon and silk will also suffer from reduced elasticity and insufficient strength when exposed to moisture. Nowadays, the archers of the Qing army hurriedly shoot a few arrows, and then immediately have to find a shelter from the rain to wipe off the rainwater on the bow body and bowstring.
Some of the Qing soldiers hiding in the trenches were holding broken umbrellas, while others were holding a piece of oilcloth and leaning against each other to keep warm. Some were squatting in small holes dug by themselves, only allowing one person to hide, and humming. Singing a ditty; while most people can only wear soaked armor and wipe the rain off their faces with their hands from time to time.
"Junmen, if this rain continues, within two days, all our muskets and cannons will be like fire sticks."
"Junmen, the food in the city is almost at the bottom now. We can hold on for five more days at most."
In the past, Hunchun's grain was not only produced locally, but also was purchased from Li Chao and transported from Jilin City. Now the road to Jilin City is blocked by the Northern Navy, and there is a river fleet of the Northern Navy on the Tumen River. Due to the blockade, food cannot be transported at all.
After listening to the complaints of his subordinates, the official security stared with bloodshot eyes and said: "Have the people sent to Qingyuan Mansion come back?"
The general on the west side of Hunchun who was in charge of guarding shook his head and said: "Not yet, it's still daytime, so we have to cross the river at night."
Since the beginning of the war, the North Navy has dispatched more than a dozen river boats to patrol the Tumen River and Hunchun River day and night, but the river is so long that there are always places where they can slip through.
The official security knew that it would be difficult to defend Hunchun, but he believed that he was deeply favored by the emperor, and the worst he could do was to commit suicide. The problem is that it doesn't matter if he himself dies. More than 20,000 of his men and thousands of banner family members in Hecheng cannot all be buried with him. He has to find a way out.
Now the road to Jilin is blocked by the Northern Navy. If you want to withdraw, you can only go to Li Chao. Hunchun is only separated from Li Chao by a river. Twenty miles west of the city is the Tumen River, and Qingyuan Prefecture is on the opposite bank. The two places have always been "looking at each other with woodcutter and pickers during the day, and you can hear the drumming at night."
The official security officer had sent people there twice before, but Cui Fuyin opposite said that the heavenly soldiers were entering the country. The matter was serious and needed to be reported to Hanyang. Ten days passed, and the officers and guards felt that they could not wait any longer. They had to evacuate the families of the generals in the city and some of their troops to the other side first.
He glanced at Na Qitai, who was sitting next to him, and felt more and more that he really couldn't see through this person.
Call him brave? He fled without a fight in Ninggu Pagoda, bribed He Shen, and finally escaped punishment from the court. He was asked to garrison the Mongolian River Camp, but it was actually penetrated in less than a day.
Can you say he is cowardly? In the subsequent defensive battles of Yingchengzi, Gangouzi and Saqicheng, this man once again put on a desperate and bloody attitude. With wounds all over his body, he returned to Hunchun City with his remaining soldiers.
Thinking of this, the official security officer shook his head slightly unconsciously.
Although Na Qitai said nothing at this time, the secret letter he saw in the morning kept flashing in his mind.
The letter was found in the backyard of the house last night when the rain stopped. It was wrapped with a layer of oilcloth on the outside and a silver bar tied inside. There was no signature on the cover. However, there is no other silver bar in the world except Beihai Town. The fifth aunt who has been to Fuldan City can understand what is going on at a glance.
By the time Na Qitai saw the letter, it was already this morning. The content inside was of great importance. His Zhengfujin was timid and did not dare to accept this hot potato, so the Fifth Aunt asked Chang Wu to find Na Qitai to make up his mind.
The letter was handwritten by Lu Shoushan, the commander of the Second Regiment of the North Navy. Na Qitai did not know this person, but the problem was that Lu Shoushan was only passing the message on behalf of Zhao Xin, which was unusual. But what frightened Na Qitai the most was that Hunchun City was surrounded by more than 20,000 Qing troops, and there was a curfew at night. How on earth were they sent in? And it’s his backyard!
In this letter, Zhao Xin first expressed his apology for the sudden offensive and hoped that Na Qitai would understand that this was the so-called "soldier's trick" and that it was normal to launch a sudden attack. In the second paragraph, the conversation changed, saying that since we have worked closely together for so many years, and you took the initiative to give up Ning Guta last year, I couldn't kill you. The road to Jilin is now closed. How about you go to North Korea to hide?
When Qitai saw this, he became very angry, knowing that Zhao Xin must not have held it in well. I hit him wherever I went. I couldn't help but plot against Li Chao again.
But what's there to do in that poor place like Li Chao? Nothing you want. When he was in Ninggu Pagoda earlier, the Li Dynasty would send people to bring cattle to trade every year. It could be said that except ginseng, they wanted almost everything.
To be honest, Na Qitai had been dealing with Beihai Town for so many years, and he really couldn't understand Zhao Xin's approach. They have beaten the imperial court to pieces. What are they waiting for if they don't send troops to capture Shengjing and then enter the customs? Or maybe it occupies such a large territory that it would have been easy for others to rule the roost and divide the land.
Last time, the fifth aunt came back with her son and daughter for medical treatment. After talking about what happened, Qitai actually had the idea of sending her son to Beihai Town. Considering his status in the court, Zhao Xin definitely couldn't treat his children badly.
Moreover, Fifth Aunt too heard from Dr. Wu that Beihai Town is currently inoculating adults and children with some kind of "cowpox" to prevent smallpox. Na Qitai had heard of variola, and it was said that the risk was very high. Even if they had money, many banner families did not dare to vaccinate.
After nightfall, the people sent to Qingyuan Mansion came back. This time, Cui Fuyin was uncharacteristic and unexpectedly agreed to the Qing army's withdrawal to the Li Dynasty. After the official security asked carefully, they found out that Marshal Fu had sent an envoy to Xianzhou, and by putting pressure on the supervisor in charge of Xianjing Road, he forced the other party to agree to the Qing army's withdrawal into the Li Dynasty. The generals were overjoyed when they heard the news and quickly made detailed evacuation plans overnight.
On the other side, Deng Fei had already received an order from Zhao Xin, telling him to turn a blind eye or close an eye to the Qing troops retreating to the Li Dynasty. However, he could not let the Qing troops retreat to the Li Dynasty, and he needed to control the number.
So Deng Fei first reduced the number and frequency of ships patrolling the Tumen River at night, and basically fired a flare on the river every hour. As a result, the Qing army only had less than an hour to cross the river at a time; after a night of tossing, they could only evacuate more than a thousand people.
After a few days of tossing, when the Qing army had almost withdrawn five or six thousand people, Deng Fei issued an ultimatum to the Hunchun defenders on behalf of the Northern Navy. All Qing troops were ordered to lay down their weapons, walk out of the trenches and surrender, otherwise the Qing army would be destroyed when the Northern Navy launched a general offensive. In the ultimatum, the North Navy reiterated its ethnic policy, which was that it would never discriminate against or oppress the "Iche Manchu" represented by the Kurkhachi people and other ethnic groups, nor would it massacre the Eight Banners.
It is said that this policy in Beihai Town has aroused the resentment of many young people in the power plant. These guys all chanted the slogan "Drive out the Tartars and restore China." Fortunately, these guys usually live on the east bank of the Xila River and rarely cross the river, so they did not have much impact on the residents.
For this matter, Chen Qingsong called these people together for a meeting. He first listened to those people's complaints expressionlessly, and then he asked, you said restoring China, okay, what places does China include?
The so-called "China" mentioned in the pre-Ming Dynasty refers to the "sixty-three provinces in the south, seven in the north, and seven in the north" where the Han people live. So do you want the Northeast, which is dominated by Manchus? Do you want Inner and Outer Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet? Do you want the Eastern Siberia we captured?
When you talk about expelling the Tartars, let alone the Manchus, what do the Mongols think? What did the Tibetans, Miao and other ethnic groups on the border think after hearing this?
Everyone here, who can guarantee that your ancestors are pure-bred Erlitou residents and are not mixed with the blood of any northern ethnic group?
China has been a multi-ethnic country since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the cultural identity passed down from generation to generation has contributed to the diverse and integrated Chinese nation. The ancients foolishly engaged in the Huayi debate, but you still jumped into it. After the Revolution of 1911, did we still suffer a lot from this? How did Outer Mongolia get lost? Why do many Manchus support the establishment of Manchukuo?
Don’t forget, the British have now extended their hands into Nepal! When you call for expulsion of the Tartars, do you intend to push the Tibetans towards the British? ! Push the ministries of Outer Mongolia towards Tsarist Russia? !
For five years, why has the Beihai Navy not entered the border? Because it is China’s territory and cannot be lost sooner or later. But if we don’t control and manage the Outer Northeast and Outer Mongolia first, then the world will be in chaos and the borders will be turbulent. Will we have to spend countless lives to go inside? fill? !
Gu Qing and Chen Qingsong usually smile and look harmless to humans and animals. But his barrage of accusations left all the young people present speechless. Only then did everyone remember that this man had been a leader before and was now the boss of the civil affairs department of Beihai Town.
Later, if Wu Ping'an hadn't helped smooth things over, the meeting might have ended on bad terms.
Sure enough, Deng Fei's ultimatum hit the psychological defense lines of many Qing troops. The reason why they resisted desperately was because the upper echelons of the Qing army had been preaching that the Beihai Navy wanted to massacre all the Manchus. Don't look at the fact that the Beihai Navy captured you and gave you food and drink to heal your wounds. They wanted to exchange you for money with the imperial court.
In fact, many of the Eight Banners stationed in Hunchun were Hezhe people who migrated here from Sanxing City, such as the Hu Xi family, the Gufa Ti family, the Xi Sha family, the Yima Cha family, and so on. Coupled with the fact that the Qing government has continuously mobilized troops from within the Pass and Mongolia in recent years, the Han army and the Eight Banners Mongolia from Khalkha accounted for the vast majority.
On the front lines of both sides, dozens of Beihai navy held up a large iron loudspeaker and read out the contents of the ultimatum non-stop. The Qing troops who heard this were all panicked and no longer had the courage to resist.
"Damn it, I don't want to fight anymore. The worst I can do is go home and farm!"
"Brother Hu, why do these traitors still say that those who want to go home will be given travel expenses? Can this be true?"
"I heard people say that the roads in Beihai Town are paved with gold, and the houses built with silver are equipped with crystal windows. It's a good life! You don't have to worry about food and clothing."
"Yes! I've also heard that they use that and that for farming... Yes, Muliu cattle and horses are used for farming."
"Ah?! Brother Hu, are you telling the truth?"
"Oh, I don't know." The Qing soldier surnamed Hu said with a mysterious face: "Haven't you heard that the book talks about the Three Kingdoms? Zhuge Kongming, Muliu cattle and horses transport military supplies, are there any fake ones?"
"I've heard of it, but it doesn't say anything about using wooden oxen and wooden horses for farming?"
"You know nothing! If you can transport grain, you can farm. Let me tell you, when you wake up in the morning and set up a good mechanism, the wood animals will go to the fields to work on their own, without anyone having to worry about them! By the time it gets late, guess what? What’s the matter, that wooden cow and wooden horse walked back to the barn by themselves without feeding them any fodder.”
"Oh my God! If we get a hundred heads, how much land will be cultivated!"
"That's right. When I wasn't on vacancy, I got up every morning to cut grass and feed the cows. When the farming season was busy, I had to feed concentrates, so the money went out. It would be great if I had a wooden cow, hehe."
The Qing soldier surnamed Hu became more and more evil as he spoke. Several people around him were dumbfounded. Even the gunner behind him came over and listened without saying a word. Everyone was talking so happily that they forgot that they were on the battlefield for a moment. It wasn't until the leading general of their team came over to inspect that everyone dispersed.
But from then until dark, the looks in the eyes of several Qing soldiers changed. There was something inexplicable about them.
After nightfall, hundreds of Qing soldiers climbed out of the trenches and entered the Beihai Navy position under the cover of darkness. This included the Qing army named Hu and several companions. On the second day, after the surrendered Qing troops had eaten their fill of bran white steamed buns and drank two bowls of broth, they also joined in the propaganda work.
"Brothers~~ I am Hu Fugui! I will no longer work for the imperial court. The food and clothing here in Beihai Navy are good, and each family will be given fifty acres of land in the future! You don't have to work on your own, the wooden cows and wooden horses will help farm the land. !Bros......"
At the Jingbian Gate in the east of Hunchun City, the ashen-faced official guards watched the defenders outside the city wave white flags one after another under the shouts of the Bei Haijun, knowing that the situation was over. He felt weak all over and refused the support of his soldiers, forcing himself to walk down the tower and towards the government office in the city.
In a house inside the Calming Gate on the west side of the city, Na Qitai, who was dressed in military uniform, was pacing back and forth in the house with a solemn expression. Suddenly, his brother-in-law Chang Wu opened the door and came in. Although his face was covered in sweat, he could not hide the joy in his expression.
Na Qitai quickly asked: "How is it?"
Chang Wu panted and whispered: "The leading officer named Deng has met..."
Na Qitai interrupted: "How to say?"
Chang Wudao: "As long as you agree to go to Qingyuan Mansion, everything else is easy..."
Qitai said with a straight face, "That's it?"
Chang Wu said: "Sir, I haven't finished speaking yet. I've been on tenterhooks all the way, please let me take a breath first."
After that, he walked to the table of the Eight Immortals, picked up the teapot, took a big sip directly into the spout, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and then said: "Master, now I really see the magic weapon of the immortal family!"
"??" Na Qitai was stunned for a moment, raised his foot and kicked the opponent's calf, and cursed: "What nonsense! Say it quickly!"
"The man surnamed Deng took me to a tent. The whole room was filled with black square iron boxes. I don't know what they were for. Guess what? The man surnamed Deng fiddled with them for some reason. , I actually heard King Zhao speak. Tell me, if this isn’t the Immortal Family’s method, what is it?”
"Ah! This happened? What did King Zhao say?"
"The King of Zhao has said it himself, as long as you take people to the Li Dynasty, he will definitely keep our family safe. Fujin, several princesses, Changsheng, and several aunts in the house will be sent to Fuldan Go to the city and arrange a courtyard. And the ginseng side will continue to make it for us."
"Damn it! He asked me to be his pawn!" Na Qitai muttered, thinking that Zhao Xin was really going to attack Li Chao. But if he agrees, he will really be on the pirate ship in Beihai Town, and it will be difficult to think about it again.
Seeing that Qitai was deep in thought and silent, Chang Wu said again: "Sir, King Zhao also said..."
Na Qitai was almost angered to death by Chang Wu, and he raised his foot to kick him again. Chang Wu quickly jumped away and said: "King Zhao said that if you don't agree, when the Beihai Navy breaks the city, you will still die, and you will not die for your country." , then I will send you to Kuye Island to dig coal!"
On June 23, the Hunchun garrison of 5,000 men, led by Jilin Deputy Commander Na Qitai, broke out from the west gate at night and raided the Northern Navy's position in the west of Hunchun City. Afterwards, they retreated to the Qingyuan Mansion of Li Chao. With the help of the Qing army, they forcibly crossed the Tumen River and escaped. The chief general of the Hunchun camp, Guan Bao, led his soldiers to fight to the death after the city was broken, and was eventually shot to death in the battle.
At this point, the Hunchun Battle that lasted for more than a month finally came to an end.
On the day after Hunchun City was defeated, a convoy of five carriages, escorted by a Lianbei navy, quietly left the north gate in the thick night, and then sped north along the post road.
In the first carriage, a woman in her thirties dressed in national flags was holding a three-year-old child, swaying left and right as the carriage swayed. The boy was so shaken that he couldn't sleep. He opened his eyes and asked the woman, "Mom, why didn't Amma come?"
"Your mother...he still has to work for others!" The woman said sadly, patted the child gently and said, "Be good, go to sleep."
