From the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, when the Qing Dynasty's army swore troops in Shenyang, to September 11th, the Chinese army arrived in Tongzhou with a large number of coated Aha troops and marched on the road for twenty-six days.
In fact, the cavalry of the Qing army advanced very fast, which can be described as lightning. There was no problem in marching hundreds of miles every day. The key was that the soldiers entered the pass on two legs and could not move faster at all.
This time Huang Taiji ordered 115,000 soldiers to go out with the army for two purposes. One is to allow them to fill in the moat and pave the way for the army when they attack the city. The second is to feed war with war, and enter the Jifu area to harvest the crops of Mingming.
Each bagman carries tools such as sickles and sacks. As long as they see unharvested crops, they can go to the fields. They also do this kind of work outside the customs. It can be said that they are very familiar with it.
You don’t have to plant your own crops. When the time comes, you can come to the bright fields to harvest crops. It is really a relaxing thing.
In the future, when the Qing Dynasty conquers the world, they may be able to get some land, and they will be willing to continue to be tenants of the banner owners.
However, as they entered the pass from Xifengkou, the situation seemed to have changed slightly.
Fortunately, in Yongping Mansion, nearly half of the crop fields have not been harvested yet.
But after arriving at Shuntian Mansion, the Baoyi saw a completely different situation.
Starting from Zhongyi Zhongwei, passing through Dongsheng Youwei, Yingzhou Youtunwei, Yingzhou Houtunwei, and ending outside Tongzhou City, most of the crops along the way have been harvested, and even those that have not been harvested have been burned by the fire. .
What was left to the King of the Qing Dynasty was a field that was scorched and smoking.
If we don't capture a few important places, we will hardly get any supplies.
And those important places didn't even have defenders. Just like the Great Wall, they were completely undefended.
Huang Taiji asked Tan Ma to capture the local people and inquire about the situation, and learned that this was an order from the Ming court.
It is said that Shenzi abandoned the periphery and all his troops were reduced to the capital. Strategic locations such as Lianzhou were abandoned.
Huang Taiji absolutely did not believe this. These guard posts in the eastern part of Shuntian Mansion could be abandoned, but abandoning Tongzhou City would be an act of stupidity.
Even the wise and foolish emperor Chongzhen would not act like this if Tongzhou City was really at his fingertips.
It can only show that there are no officials who know how to fight in the Ming Dynasty, and the so-called intelligent prince is in vain.
When the army arrived outside Tongzhou City, there were no banners on the city head and no soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.
Abatai, the leader of the Zhenghui Banner, who was the vanguard of the king's division, had to send his confidants to investigate. As expected, Tongzhou City had indeed been abandoned by Man Ming.
This could not help but make the Qing royal masters feel happy, but also despise Man Ming. The other party must be as cowardly as a mouse to give up such a strategic location.
For the powerful Qing army, it didn't matter even if all the Ming soldiers in Jifu area hid in the capital, it was only a matter of time before they broke into the city.
In order to break through the capital this time, they carried as many as 128 red cannons alone, as well as thousands of other types of artillery.
It may not be possible to bombard the Man Ming capital, but if it is used in only one direction, it will definitely have an immediate effect.
As long as the city wall is blown down, the Ming Ming defenders will lose their most reliable barrier.
The imperial cavalry of the Qing Dynasty's royal division was invincible across thousands of miles, and the infantry was also extremely brave and unstoppable.
Even if there is a gap of three to five feet in the city wall, Wang Shi's soldiers can take the opportunity to rush into the city and attack the Ming capital in one fell swoop.
The Ming Dynasty had reached its end of life, and all the Qing Emperor had to do was to kick him into the coffin.
When the people in the city saw the Qing Emperor approaching, they immediately prostrated on the ground, kowtowed, and shouted, "Long live the Qing Emperor!"
Since the other parties were civilians and there was no sneak attack, it was very easy to capture Tongzhou City, so Abatai did not order a massacre.
In order to take over the Central Plains and leave an initial good impression on the people of the world, you should also win people's hearts at this time, even if it is just for show.
However, most of the livestock and poultry were taken away by the retreating Ming army, and only a few were secretly left behind. The only meat that could be fed to the army was various fish caught from the river.
They captured Tongzhou City without encountering resistance, which made Huang Taiji very happy. Even if they didn't capture the Ming soldiers, it didn't matter. The army stayed outside the city for a day, which was regarded as a rest.
Going to the capital requires careful planning.
According to the news in Man Ming newspaper, the capital city has been expanded on a large scale.
If Master Wang wanted to break into the city before the red cannon he carried was destroyed, he could only attack the old city instead of the newly built part of the city.
Even if the red cannon is used carefully and properly maintained, one cannon can only fire three to four hundred shells at most.
The nearly 130 Hongyi cannons can only fire out 50,000 shells at best, which is still an ideal situation.
In actual combat, it would be quite gratifying if 20,000 of them could hit the target.
Therefore, all the red cannons can only be concentrated to bombard a city wall.
Launching an attack from the south, after destroying the outer city, Wang Shi also faced the inner city.
The most convenient way is to launch an attack from Fuchengmen and Xizhimen on the west side, or Deshengmen and Andingmen on the north side.
By blasting through any of these two city walls, the king's army can pour into the inner city like a tide and attack Man Ming's imperial city.
Once the inner city was breached, the barbarian defenders on the other side of the new city would naturally have no intention of fighting and would either flee from the battlefield or kneel down and beg for surrender.
The army is now stationed on the east bank of the canal, and there are two routes to attack in the northwest.
The first is to go north and cross the Baihe River, but the water surface of the Baihe River here is wider. If you continue to go upstream, you will have to cross the Baihe River first and then the Yuhe River.
The second is to cross the canal southward, reach the outskirts of the capital, and then cross the Yu River. Or go around to Yuquan Mountain, the source of the Yu River, so you don’t have to cross the river.
The advantage of marching troops north is that it saves time, but it is difficult to find enough ships to continuously cross the river.
The advantage of marching troops south is that they can cross one less river, but it takes two more days to travel. The advantages and disadvantages are obvious.
Huang Taiji was a little unsure, so he sought the opinions of the four counselors around him.
Ning Wan, Fan Wencheng and I supported taking the northern route. The reason was that the distance was short and we could find a shoal with local people. We were recruiting boats for the army to quickly cross the river.
Xifu and Ganglin supported taking the southern route because it was easy to find ships only along the canal. As long as they crossed the canal, there would be no obstacles to the king's army.
As a result, it took three days to find less than 200 large and small ships, most of which were small ships. Many large ships had already gone to the capital or Tianjin.
This small number of boats is simply not enough for nearly 270,000 troops to cross the river, not to mention a large number of war horses and pack horses. It is considered fast to cross the river within ten days.
There was no shoal in the Tongzhou section of the canal. In desperation, Huang Taiji had no choice but to take the north route, and then ordered Abatai to send troops upstream to find the shoal of the Baihe River.
While letting the ships transport troops and horses, they first crossed the Baihe River and then crossed the Yuhe River. Fortunately, no smart soldiers and horses were found around. The king's division did not need to be alert at all and concentrated on crossing the river.
In the end, after eight days of tossing, three boats capsized, and hundreds of people drowned, the army finally completed the crossing.
On September 21st, which was October 17th in the Western calendar, the camp was set up ten miles northwest of the capital.
It is so troublesome to march troops in summer and autumn. It is indeed not as convenient as winter. It is enough for the war horses to walk directly on the ice.
On that day, Huang Taiji held a banquet in his big tent to entertain a group of civil servants and generals.
The only thing to eat was roasted whole lamb, because the appetite of the Menggu generals had to be taken into consideration, and the Han generals did not matter.
"Report~! Report to the Emperor, there is someone outside the camp claiming to be Feng Quan, Minister of Rites of the Manming Dynasty, and he has come to ask to see the Emperor!"
"Oh? Are there any uninvited guests?"
Huang Taiji was very curious about this. Could it be that Man Ming planned to do a courtesy first and then attack?
"Who else came with him?"
"Report to the eldest brother, and the commander-in-chief Xu Dingguo. There are ten soldiers at the same time, and they are carrying three carriages, but none of the carriages are loaded with items. Feng Quan is wearing sackcloth and wearing mourning!"
"ah???"
Hauge didn't believe that Feng Quan came alone, but the words of the soldier made Hauge extremely different. The expressions of other military officials and generals were also the same as his.
After all, this guy is also a very wise Minister of Rites. Why did he come to Wangshi's camp and dare to wear sackcloth and show mourning? Could it be that he was forcibly appointed while still in Dingyou?
"Brother, at the beginning of the year, that bastard Lu Xiangsheng went to war wearing hemp and filial piety!"
Xifu suddenly remembered a similar thing and thought it could be compared, so he said it.
"Yes! That's true. Is it possible that barbarians like this?"
Hauge nodded when he heard this, and turned to look at the Han ministers like Ning Wanwo and Fan Wencheng.
"Your Majesty, Feng Quan may have some hidden agenda when he comes here dressed like this!"
Ning Wan, I don’t know the Shenzi medicine sold in Feng Quan Gourd, so I can only make a rough guess.
"Xuan Fengquan and Xu Dingguo entered the account, I really want to see it!"
Huang Taiji didn't know what the situation was like in the city. It would be nice to find someone to find out. The last message sent to the city was three days ago.
Huang Taiji didn't know whether there was an accident or what was going on. Master Wang couldn't enter Manming's capital, so he had no choice but to help.
"Huang Ama, summoning people wearing sackcloth and wearing filial piety may be an ominous sign!"
This is what Hauge dared to say without thinking. Others would have to consider whether it was appropriate or not.
"It doesn't matter! If word spreads, I'd think the entire Qing Dynasty is afraid of these two people!"
There were so many people in the tent and there were many demonstrations, so there was no fear of his assassination.
As for the "ominous omen" mentioned by Hauge, the Qing Dynasty is about to conquer the world. This is God's will and is very auspicious.
Feng Quan and Xu Dingguo were first carefully searched outside the tent, and Huang Taiji's guards checked their belongings before being allowed in.
"Who is coming? Tell me your name!"
"I am Feng Quan, Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty!"
"I am Xu Dingguo, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Why!"
"I, the Ming Dynasty's crown prince, Zhu Cixiang, passed away a few days ago, and I'm here to ask for funeral expenses of 66,000 taels!"
"ah???"
Huang Taiji didn't say a word from the beginning to the end, and all the questions were asked by the servants around him.
Despite this, Huang Taiji looked shocked when he heard the reason given by Feng Quan, and sat there for a long time.
The surrounding civil servants and generals were also extremely surprised when they heard this. They had never heard of such a ridiculous reason.
The wise dog prince passed away?
Who believes this?
What evidence is there?
Just rely on your mouth?
Asking for funeral expenses of 66,000 taels of silver. How shameless!
Why don't you get it together and just ask for one hundred thousand taels? You can't get it anyway.
"Ahem! I'm here to ask for funeral expenses of sixty-six thousand taels!"
Feng Quan saw a group of murderous Donglu in the tent. Although he was accompanied by Xu Dingguo, he still felt that he was alone.
At first, he was very timid when speaking, but when he saw that the other group of people were stunned by what he said, his confidence greatly increased.
He reiterated his purpose of coming, and it seemed that these barbarians were indeed as easy to deceive as the prince said.
"Presumptuous! Under the guise of being a barbarian prince, you ask for tens of thousands of taels of silver. What are your intentions?"
Gang Lin immediately shouted and asked, determined not to let this barbarian show his prestige in the emperor's camp.
"Wearing linen and mourning, you say that your prince has passed away. Do you think we are three-year-old children?"
Not to be outdone, Xifu directly exposed the other party's lies.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked me to dress up like this. The purpose is to facilitate the request for funeral expenses!"
Feng Quan said the reason vigorously and solemnly. Anyway, it was taught to him by the prince. Whether it works or not is not his decision.
"...So, your prince has not died yet? This is a deliberate attempt to deceive us! You, a madman, have spoken rudely. Your Majesty, I suggest that you immediately pull this madman out, behead him, and hang his head on a high pole. Above, to intimidate the barbarian defenders!"
Gang Lin just wanted to kill this guy directly, so as not to listen to his meaningless nonsense again. Killing a wise minister could be regarded as a good omen for Master Wang to win.
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
Others also agreed with Gang Lin's suggestion. This barbarian actually went to Master Wang and promised to deceive everyone. They were really impatient.
"Wait a minute! I haven't finished speaking yet. Are you trying to kill people and silence them? Is it possible that you have a guilty conscience?"
If Feng Quan felt guilty enough, he would have to beat him up at this time. This loyal minister is indeed not easy to be a loyal minister. He must first grow courageous.
"Fart! You barbarian is the thief!"
Hauge immediately became furious and grabbed Feng Quan by the collar, wanting to strangle this barbarian who was deliberately slandering himself.
"Then just listen to what I have to say!"
Facing this reckless man who looked like a wolf and a tiger, Feng Quan's heart almost jumped out of his mouth, but he would never admit defeat. This was one of his few advantages.
"Haug!"
Huang Taiji also wanted to hear what this guy had to say, but it would be too arbitrary to not allow people to come in and kill him before he finished speaking.
"If you fart quickly, let it go!"
After hearing Huang Ama's order, Hauge had no choice but to let go of the prey in front of him, let him finish his sentence, and then chopped the guy with a knife, making everyone feel bad.
"Ahem, everyone, my prince thinks it is reasonable to ask for funeral expenses. The reason is very simple. If you are sure to attack the capital, the gold and silver treasures in the city will naturally belong to you. By then my prince will be defeated and die, and he will definitely need funeral expenses. , you are the ones who buried my prince. Is what I said correct? On the contrary, if you feel that it is impossible to capture the capital, you don’t have to give me this money. I will have an explanation when I go back. If I am detained here as a hostage, or Being killed means that you are afraid of my prince and cannot conquer the capital, so you can only kill me to vent your anger. In this way, I will become a loyal martyr of the Ming Dynasty, and my reputation in the future will be much better than that of everyone here! Mention me, Feng Quan is a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. I’m sorry to mention you, butcher!”
Feng Quan relayed the prince's words to everyone, including Huang Taiji, on the spot. The roads in front and back will be blocked for you, leaving you with no chance to walk.
Just like this, I will attack you in front of you. The prince said that with the temper of the dog Tatars, he would definitely not be stopped and would probably make a bet with you.
"My master, the King of the Qing Dynasty, is invincible in the world. He has knocked down the gates many times and conquered countless cities! How can you try to resist even though you are so bright? You are really bragging and overestimating your own capabilities!"
Fan Wencheng wanted to earn face for his master at this time and could not let the other party gain the upper hand.
However, Feng Quan is indeed a good talker, and his words really choked everyone in his side.
