"Your Majesty, you must never abandon the capital. If the Qing Dynasty has the land of Yanyun and the imperial court is still in Beijing, then it will still be the orthodoxy of the world. The hope of scholars is that if they retreat to the grasslands in the north, wouldn't they end up in the Northern Yuan Dynasty?"
The first to go out was Dong Gao, who was recalled from Sichuan.
Sun Shiyi's straightforward surrender to the Ming Dynasty frightened the Qing court.
Therefore, Qianlong did not dare to set up any more Sichuan regiment training general officers.
Sichuan is still nominally a part of the Qing Dynasty, but in fact it is already a situation where the regiments in various regions are divided and leaderless - there is no one who can actually speak to the situation. This situation of Sichuan's large and small regiments and armed forces has made the Ming Dynasty withdraw. Sichuan will be more troublesome.
Of course, it's just trouble, because Daming has more important things to do now.
Therefore, Sichuan Province is still under the banner of the Qing Dynasty for the time being, but the Qing Dynasty cannot order Sichuan Province now, nor can it collect grain and husbands from Sichuan.
Dong Gao, who had returned to the center, had actually been marginalized. Although he was a military aircraft, he had not been summoned by Qianlong for a long time. Sun Shiyi's surrender made the Qing court wary of using Han officials.
Qianlong frowned when he heard this.
Bei Yuan's fate?
What will happen to Bei Yuan?
Lan Yu, the general of the Ming army, led the army to fight in the Yuyu'er Sea. In the first battle, the Yuan Dynasty was completely wiped out. Tuogu Si Timur, Prince Tianbaonu and dozens of others escaped. The Ming army acquired more than 120 people including his son Dibaonu, the late crown prince Bili Tu, his concubine and princess, 3,000 officials, more than 70,000 men and women, 150,000 horses, cattle, camels, seals, and books. , gold and silver seals, etc.
After this battle, Beiyuan suffered a devastating blow.
Since then, Mongolia has begun to fall into continuous internal strife. Although there were several brief reunifications during this period, it was ultimately impossible to restore the momentum of the Great Mongolia.
If the Qing Dynasty retreated to the grassland like the Yuan Dynasty, it would probably be worse than the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
The Golden Family is at least the Khan of the Mongols.
What about the Eight Banners of Manchuria?
Without the wealth of the Central Plains, why should the Aixinjueluo family command the Mongolian tribes?
"Then between you, how about the Qing Dynasty?"
Qianlong asked.
"Fight! Our Qing Dynasty still has hundreds of thousands of powerful soldiers, including no less than 200,000 of the Heavenly Soldiers of the Eight Banners. We also have a powerful city to rely on, backed by desert grasslands, and span thousands of miles. Why can't we fight against Yanyun? We can divide our troops. Shanhaiguan and Zhengding Prefecture guard the capital."
Dong Gao said loudly.
Qianlong had a gloomy look on his face when he heard this.
Good on you Dong Gao.
You big traitor.
This is to allow us to lose all the elites of the Eight Banners so that the Han people can dominate the world!
Many Manchu ministers also turned gloomy upon hearing this.
But they didn't dare to say anything.
Dong Gao spoke loudly and fought for the Qing Dynasty. What can you say? Do you dare to speak out and kill those who fight?
Then didn’t the Qing emperor become Zhao Gou?
Instead, Dong Gao became famous throughout the ages.
It's so bad, for the sake of clearing one's name, the lives and deaths of the Eight Banners' disciples were disregarded!
"No fight!"
Agui couldn't help but said.
As the commander of the army, he knew very well that under the current situation, fighting in the north and the south was looking for death.
Moreover, the Qing Dynasty could no longer be defeated.
How can we continue to fight when we have lost all our money and food?
You can't let soldiers and generals go to war hungry, right?
"Why can't we fight? We, the Qing Dynasty's 200,000 heavenly soldiers, are still afraid of rebelling against the Ming Dynasty?"
Dong Gao asked rhetorically.
It started in Guangdong since the Ming Dynasty.
Han officials in the Qing court did not dare to speak softly.
Now the Han ministers are all showing off.
Anyway, this world belongs to you.
Let's just shout and get it done.
Agui was speechless.
Why can't we fight?
Isn't this obvious?
Because the Eight Banners are no longer heavenly soldiers.
Now it is not the Eight Banners that are absolutely invincible, but the Ming Army.
Even the Heavenly Soldiers of the Eight Banners not only couldn't beat the Ming army, but they might have stretched their hips a little when facing the Heavenly Kingdom soldiers.
But when the Eight Banners collapsed, it was no longer the Heavenly Soldiers. This was like the emperor's new clothes in the Qing Dynasty.
Many people know it, but just can’t say it.
Whoever says this will die.
But since you are all heavenly soldiers, why can't it be impossible for 200,000 heavenly soldiers to guard Shanhaiguan and Zhengding Prefecture?
A Gui's face was ashen and he stared at Dong Gao without making a sound.
Dong Gao sighed in his heart.
When Qianlong left him in Sichuan, he wanted him to lead the Sichuan regiment to fight against the Ming army.
As a result, Sun Shiyi was so smart that he surrendered directly and got a British Duke from the Ming Dynasty.
Just when Dong Gao was eagerly waiting for the Ming army to enter Sichuan.
After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom left Tongguan, fighting broke out in the Central Plains. The Ming army took the opportunity to open another battlefield in Liaodong.
As a result, all forces paid little attention to Sichuan.
Dong Gao also lost his position as governor of Sichuan and chief military officer of the Sichuan regiment because of Sun Shiyi's incident, and was recalled to the capital.
The position of the Duke has just disappeared.
He doesn't have tens of thousands of troops on hand.
Why did Ming Dynasty give you the position of Duke?
What a shame.
"Your Majesty, the current situation is a bit similar to the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Shu and Wu, but the strongest one now is undoubtedly Ni Ming," He Shen said as he stepped out.
"Three Kingdoms? Are you saying that if the Ming Dynasty is the Wei Kingdom, then the Qing Dynasty is the Wu Kingdom, and the religious bandits will become Liu Bei instead?"
Qianlong frowned and said.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
It was once a military enlightenment textbook for the first and second generations of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty.
Back then, the Batulus of the Qing Dynasty relied on a copy of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms to conquer the world.
Of course Qianlong also saw it.
"It's just that now Wei and Liu Bei are working together to defeat Sun Wu, but I think that the religious bandits will also find out after contacting the Ming army that they alone cannot defeat Ni Ming."
"Negotiate peace with the bandits?"
"It may not be impossible to reconcile with Ni Ming." He Shen said.
"Make peace? Is Zhu Daohua willing?" Qianlong looked at the other people in the hall.
If peace could be made, Qianlong would certainly be willing to do so.
But peace comes at a price.
And it also depends on the person’s face.
"Your Majesty, now that water transportation is cut off, millions of bannermen can only waste food in Beijing. It is better to evacuate some to Guihua City, Taiyuan and other places to eat. In addition, we can send envoys to contact the religious bandits and Ni Ming."
Liu Yong suggested.
"What about the religious bandits? What about Ni Ming?" Qianlong looked at Liu Yong and thought to himself: This is a mature and prudent view.
"There have been several conflicts between the religious bandits and the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Ni Ming Dynasty, but they have not been able to take advantage. Presumably they also know how powerful the Ni Ming Dynasty is. Under such circumstances, the imperial court can send envoys to reconcile with the religious bandits, not to mention cooperation in resistance. Ming, at least let the religious bandits realize that if they focus on attacking the Qing Dynasty northward, the only one who takes advantage will be the Ming Dynasty."
Indeed.
The previous situation was that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fought northward with all its strength.
The Northern Expeditionary Army of the Ming Army was picking peaches behind them.
This is how Anhui, northern Jiangsu, southwestern Shandong, Jizhou and other places were brought under the rule of the Ming Dynasty one by one.
If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom continues to move north, I am afraid that by the time the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom soldiers finally surround Beijing, the Ming Dynasty will have occupied the entire Central Plains without a single blow.
If Liu Zhixie, the king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was not a fool, he would definitely not fight in the front and let the Ming army pick peaches from behind.
The conflict and friction between the two sides near Zhengding Mansion had already shown that the tacit understanding between the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty to be hostile to the Qing Dynasty had been broken.
Now the Central Plains has entered a complex situation in which the three parties are hostile to each other.
in this case.
It really gave the Qing court room to move vertically and horizontally.
"For the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it can be said that they united against the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the imperial court also sent people to Ning to visit the Ming Dynasty, saying that they were willing to exchange the capital for the lives of one million bannermen. The Qing Dynasty withdrew from the Central Plains, and the Ming Dynasty needed to transport two million stone grains to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. clear!"
Liu Yong said.
"Whether the Ming Dynasty agrees or not, as long as peace talks can be started, it will be an opportunity for the Qing Dynasty."
When Qianlong heard this, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
Is Zhu Daohua willing to trade the capital for a living?
If you can't fight, peace talks may be the best option.
Qianlong nodded: "Making peace with Zhu Daohua is one way. Now that he has obtained Liaodong, if there is a chance to take over the capital, he will definitely be moved."
Qianlong rubbed his temples: "You sir, we will discuss this in the next two days. Whether it is war, peace, or departure, we must come up with a solution."
Fight, and go.
The initiative was not entirely in the hands of the Qing court.
Qianlong knew this.
Two days later.
Qianlong made a decision.
On the one hand, Agui led 50,000 Eight Banners troops and mobilized 50,000 Lu Yong to go to Shanhaiguan to guard the pass.
The defense system of Shanhaiguan is very complete, with a hundred thousand troops guarding it. No matter how powerful the Ming army is, it will be very difficult to completely capture Shanhaiguan.
The basis of peace talks is to clearly show that you still have the ability to fight.
On the other hand, we are also ready to evacuate Beijing.
One million Eight Banners old, weak, women and children were all organized into troops and began to evacuate in batches to the Guihua City outside Gangguan. At the same time, they recruited various Mongolian tribes, cattle, sheep and horses. When necessary, the Eight Banners' nobles also went to the grassland. Pastured.
In addition, Fukang'an was appointed as the general manager of the South Camp to uniformly command the battles within the pass.
After being prepared for evacuation and war.
The Qing court also began to prepare for peace talks with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty.
The envoy to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was Dai Quheng, the number one scholar in the 43rd year of Qianlong's reign.
The one who went to Ningyuan to seek peace was Liu Yong, a scholar of Tiren Pavilion.
All of a sudden.
Liao battlefield.
The Liao Front of the Ming Army was busy completely occupying Ningjin.
The battlefield of the Central Plains.
Hundreds of thousands of troops from the three parties faced off around Zhengding Mansion, and each other dared not move rashly.
The Qing court also planned to profit from negotiations among the three-party confrontation.
The entire northern battlefield has entered a period of calm.
At this time, thousands of miles away in the Indian Ocean.
Escorted by the Ming Dynasty's Indian Ocean Fleet's thirty-six three-dimensional schooner bombardment gunboats, twelve Wei-class ironclads, and sixty two-masted scissor bombardment gunboats, the Ming Dynasty's Indian Ocean Fleet transported the coalition forces of the Indian princes of the Ming Dynasty. Ying Fan and Wu Fan fought more than 10,000 Soldiers, and a large amount of military supplies, weapons and ammunition, food and other cargo, more than a hundred large sailing ships have quietly crossed the southern waters of the Andaman Islands and are heading towards the northern part of the Palk Strait between Sri Lanka and the South Asian subcontinent. Ebony Coast direction.
And on September 30th.
The patrol speedboat of the fleet exchanged fire with the cruiser of the British Eastern Intervention Fleet flying the British Union Flag!
Just that afternoon.
The privateer fleet led by Captain Cai Qian of the British Navy, who was sent to explore the southeastern coast of the South Asian subcontinent, brought back the news.
The British Eastern Intervention Fleet, led by its commander, British Navy Lieutenant Colonel Wilson, has departed from the port of Calcutta! !
A massive decisive battle that will determine maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean and control of the eastern trade routes.
It’s about to kick off in the waters of the Bay of Bengal!
(End of chapter)
