Lin Yue said: "Do you have any objections?"
Yuan Chonghuan said: "I don't dare."
"Are you afraid or disdainful?"
Yuan Chonghuan fell to his knees with a thud: "I don't dare."
"In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, when I re-enabled you, you said that if you were given five years, Liaodong would be pacified. Now, only two years have passed, and Huang Taiji has actually led his people southward to break through the Great Wall defense line and target the capital. Do you have anything to say?"
"I...have nothing to say." Yuan Chonghuan looked like he bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
"At the beginning of this spring, you killed Mao Wenlong with the Shangfang sword I gave you. It was really majestic and I think you will be happy."
"I... am scared."
"Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Do you think I don't know that you said that the five-year pacification of Liaodong was a short-term guarantee, just to comfort...or to deceive my trust? Why did I not expose you? I think you should Know."
Yuan Chonghuan doesn't know, he really doesn't know, but he can't say he doesn't know now: "Your Majesty, your Majesty..."
Yuan Chonghuan didn't know the reason, and Lin Yue himself didn't know the reason. After all, he was still working as a young eunuch in Kunning Palace when Chongzhen appointed Yuan Chonghuan. Now he was using this matter to get rid of Yuan Chonghuan, so that the emperor appeared to be unpredictable and far-sighted.
"Okay, stop defending yourself. I won't hold you accountable for your deception, nor will I hold you accountable for Mao Wenlong's death. During Huang Taiji's expedition to Gyeonggi this time, if you dare to make small moves behind your back..."
"I don't dare." To be honest, Yuan Chonghuan is really afraid of his threat. Firstly, because "Emperor Chongzhen" has not been idle during this period. He has been tossing civil servants to win over military generals, and the power in his hands is getting more and more expanded. Secondly, When all the officials thought that "Emperor Chongzhen" was recuperating in the harem, he actually appeared in Shanhaiguan. His courage and responsibility were completely unlike that of a clan member who grew up in a greenhouse. The third time... this was an exaggerated plan. .
Lin Yue said: "I'm sorry you don't dare either."
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, would it be too dangerous to do this?"
"I know what you are worried about." Lin Yue said: "Where I am is the heart of the Ming Dynasty. Doesn't Huang Taiji want my capital? If he can, he will take it."
Yuan Chonghuan stopped talking, because for this reason, if the war was lost, he would not be blamed, it would all be the emperor's responsibility.
Did he think that fighting Huang Taiji was just a matter of playing house? The cavalry of the Houjin Eight Banners has a high level of barbarity and strong combat effectiveness. How can it be compared to the group of imperial guards in the capital who have long since lost their combat effectiveness?
In addition, this way, his Guan Ning Army can still retain its strength and come out to turn the tide at the critical moment, which may make His Majesty the Emperor agree to negotiate a peace.
After that, Lin Yue gave him several orders and took the people away.
According to the official history, Zhao led his army to Santunying Town with 4,000 fine cavalry. He wanted to open the city gate and enter the city to rest, but was rejected by the generals who defended the city. He had no choice but to continue westward. In Zunhua, he was captured by Huang Taiji's brother Aji. He was ambushed and the entire army was wiped out.
Here Yuan Chonghuan followed Lin Yue's instructions to send the emperor's handwriting to Zhao Shujiao. What happened in the official history has changed slightly. Zhao Shujiao still ended up in an ambush and defeat, but the number of casualties was 2,000. The remaining 2,000 were killed by Zhao Shujiao. Under the leadership of the teacher, they broke out eastward.
When the Jin army saw that Zhao was defeated, their morale was greatly boosted and they continued to attack Zunhua and Santun camp.
On the fifth day of the eleventh month, traitors set fire to Zunhua City and Zunhua fell; on the seventh day of the eleventh month, the Santun camp fell. However, what made Huang Taiji and Dorgon angry was that when the city was broken, the granary caught fire and all the grain reserves were burned. The Hou Jin army that was detouring around Mongolia had difficulty in supplying supplies. Once the granary was burned, the soldiers could only plunder the residents' rations on the spot, which led to many massacres, thousands of people died, and rivers of blood flowed in the city.
At the same time, Yuan Chonghuan led his troops into the pass and made feints in an area south of the Hou Jin Army to confuse Huang Taiji.
In mid-November, Yuan Chonghuan arrived in Jizhou and ordered the army to fortify the walls and clear the fields and defend the city. Huang Taiji sent hundreds of cavalry to cover up the situation, and the main force quickly crossed Jizhou and headed straight for Huanglong.
Arriving at Sanhe on November 13th, they advanced to Tongzhou on November 15th, and then... Huang Taiji became a little uneasy and held a combat meeting with Beiledaishan, Azig and others.
Yes, their army's offensive momentum was very fierce. It was unstoppable all the way from the entrance of the Great Wall, and they attacked the three camps, Zunhua, and Sanhe. Yuan Chonghuan's troops hid in Jizhou and did not dare to come forward. The morale of the troops was like a rainbow, but if you observe carefully, you will find that Although the Ming army retreated steadily, there was no panic collapse, and the situation along the way was extremely strange. You must know that from Yongping Mansion to Shuntian Mansion, the terrain is flat and open. There should be many villages and towns that can be plundered, but when the cavalry troops rushed After arriving, I found that all ten rooms were empty and there was no food at all. With the cavalry on the attack, supplies are a big problem. Judging from the current situation, the rations seized from Santun Camp and Zunhua are only enough to last eight or nine days. You must know that they launched a surprise attack and a cavalry battle. How did the Ming army quickly evacuate residents from Zunhua to Tongzhou?
After more than an hour of discussion, Huang Taiji and others reached an agreement that this battle must be fought. Because they had taken such a long detour, they had now reached Tongzhou and were close to the capital. It would be a big loss to withdraw. , and the soldiers below would not agree.
Since ancient times, the method used by the northern nomads to trample the Central Plains is to break into the Central Plains with iron cavalry, and then support the war with war. They rely on mobility to roam in undefended or less fortified areas. Since the Ming army quickly evacuated the villages and towns along the way, they then moved their plundering objects to Moving south, they can't evacuate the entire village and town residents of Shuntian Prefecture.
While Huang Taiji ordered Saharian to send scouts to Changping in the north and Gu'an in the south to explore the defense information of inhabited villages and cities, he led the army to continue westward.
On November 16th, the situation became even worse. Dorgon led the army to attack Shunyi and almost entered a deserted area. However, there were only some old, weak, sick and disabled people in the city, so they killed all the people and did not squeeze out much.
Further north are Changping and Miyun. Whether to try their luck there or attack the capital, the answer is obvious.
On November 18th, Houjin troops arrived at Deshengmen in the north of the city, and then they saw a network of trenches stretching for several miles. Daishan's troops, who were used to test the reality, were pushed back by the Shenji Battalion without any results.
On November 19, Huang Taiji arrived with the main force. After listening to Daishan's report, he decided to allocate part of his troops to attack Deshengmen, Andingmen, Guangqumen, etc. at the same time, hoping to disrupt the rhythm and coordination of the defending troops. , and then punched hard to destroy the face, completely disintegrating the capital's defense.
It was a good idea, but the combat effectiveness of the famously weak Forbidden Army exceeded his expectations. If he could use one word to describe the tactics of these guys, it would be turtle, and it would be cowardice. Fighting horses, trenches, traps, mud pits, gold juice, iron nails... they used all possible means, using firearms to hit and run in the trench network that stretched for several miles, and kept retreating, leading the Jin army into the fire range of the Hongyi artillery. There was a bombardment inside, which made the Hou Jin army flee to cover up the enemy. The people from the Shenji Battalion came out to fire, and then the infantry advanced, driving the enemy out of the position, and finally using the resources accumulated in the city to rebuild and strengthen the fortifications. This is the first time. One day, the Hou Jin army dropped thousands of corpses in front of Desheng Gate.
Faced with a dense network of trenches stretching for several miles, it was difficult for the Hou Jin cavalry to penetrate the defenses, and the infantry could not penetrate. They could only blast a few cannons captured from the Ming army and laugh and curse "Chongzhen kid" under the city. The Jin soldiers held the defense. The city's imperial guards were helpless.
At night, Huang Taiji stared at BJ City, the piece of fat that he thought about day and night, but he just couldn't get rid of it.
As the attacker, they can cut off the supply of the capital, and the people inside will be deprived of food and water for a period of time. Chongzhen's son has no other choice but to surrender and become a vassal. However, he knows very well that with the current situation of the army, the capital has not been deprived of food. The golden soldier starved to death first.
They could also gather around for reinforcements, but the news from the spies stated that Yuan Chonghuan's troops hung behind the rear Jin army for two days after leaving Jizhou and then returned.
In addition, the capital was besieged, and King Qin's troops were nowhere to be seen in Shanxi and Shandong.
Things are so weird, really weird.
At this time, the spies sent to Gu'an to investigate reported that although the villages and towns along the way were evacuated, the situation was better than that from Jizhou to the capital. Several larger towns only had small groups of infantry garrisoned.
The BJ city defense could not be broken for a while, and the troops were in short supply of rations. Huang Taiji ordered Belsaharian to lead 2,000 elite cavalry to the south to plunder rations, and asked him to do a good job in investigation, because he always felt that something was not right.
After Saharian left, Huang Taiji summoned Dorgon and others to discuss changing the battle plan. According to Daishan and others, when horses are hungry, they can graze in Nanhaizi, and when people are hungry, they can attack Shanxi, Baoding, and Shandong. When the time comes to raise strong soldiers and horses, and then kill a carbine, it is impossible for the Ming army to keep their Houjin cavalry with the strength of the Ming army.
However, as soon as the meeting ended, Daishan and others were slapped in the face.
