The landing combat method of the National Defense Force made the Manchu and Qing Dynasties very helpless.
Although they had made proper defense preparations, the Manchu Qing had no idea how to deal with this method of landing anywhere.
They knew that Shanhaiguan was very important, so they deployed heavy troops here.
They also knew that there were national defense forces in Lushun, so they strengthened their defenses at Fuzhou Guard.
Even Tianjin Wei was prepared.
I just didn't expect that the National Defense Forces came to Jinzhou and suddenly pinched the pulse of the Qing Dynasty.
The Manchu and Qing senior officials had nothing to do about this.
After discussion, they decided to leave the Great Wall from Zunhua and return to Liaodong via the Mongolian grassland.
"You rush back immediately to control the situation, and send orders to the various ministries to send troops and horses to reinforce Jinzhou."
Because Wu Keshan was fighting with Azig, Dorgon ordered Chahan to rush back to Horqin immediately.
This is the only channel back to Liaodong besides the western Liaoning corridor.
Chahan also knew that the matter was of great importance, so he led his trusted troops and set off on the same day.
Dorgon did not dare to delay, so he led 5,000 cavalry as the vanguard early the next morning and left the capital.
Behind him, Empress Xiaozhuang, Emperor Shunzhi, senior Manchu civil and military officials, and ordinary Manchu people all embarked on the journey dejectedly.
Not only did they not gain a foothold in the capital, but they also had to take other routes on their return trip, which cast a haze on everyone's minds.
No one knows what the future holds. Will they be able to return to their homeland?
Dorgon was so anxious that he traveled very fast, wishing he could fly back to Liaodong.
However, what he didn't know was that no matter how fast he was, there was nothing he could do to save himself.
Lou Fu attacked Jinzhou City and began the siege the next day.
Regarding how to attack Jinzhou City, the National Defense Forces have long made corresponding plans.
Sun Chengzong, Zhang Chun and other Ming officials who had served in Liaodong all provided opinions and references.
As a simple military castle, Jinzhou has very complete defense facilities.
Although the city walls could not withstand the heavy artillery of the Wehrmacht, other fortifications would still impose a cost on the Wehrmacht.
Therefore, Lou Fu learned from the methods of the Qing army's two attacks on Jinzhou, carried out soil work, and approached step by step.
Compared with the Qing army, the National Defense Force's greater advantage lies in artillery.
With artillery strikes, the engineers' soil work was very fast. After only five days, they dug to a place less than 100 meters away from the Jinzhou City Wall.
Although Li Shutai tried his best and used all his strength to launch seven consecutive counterattacks, without exception, they were all beaten back by the effective response of the National Defense Forces.
When all the outer defenses of Jinzhou were removed, only the bare city walls were left facing the artillery fire of the National Defense Forces.
Lou Fu formally issued the order for a general offensive.
One hundred heavy cannons completely destroyed the Ningyuan Gate in the east. The city wall was damaged and collapsed in many places, completely losing its defensive role.
After the Wehrmacht infantry approached the city wall in a loose formation, they climbed up one after another.
There are still sporadic Qing troops resisting above, but their intensity is dispensable.
Once encountering resistance, the soldiers of the National Defense Forces did not fight back on the spot. Instead, step back and mark this place.
Artillery will then carry out heavy strikes on these places.
Lou Fu cherished the lives of his soldiers very much and was not willing to let his soldiers use their flesh and blood to attack the city.
All problems that can be solved with artillery are not problems.
Even if some areas are extremely strong, artillery cannot blow them down. But under the cover of artillery fire, the people above were completely unable to stand.
That afternoon, all the outer city on the east side of Jinzhou fell into the hands of the National Defense Forces.
The soldiers cleared the battlefield and did not rush to attack inside. Instead, they took advantage of the muskets on the outer city wall to suppress the defenders in the inner city.
Facing thousands of muskets, the Qing army could only hide behind the walls in embarrassment, not daring to show their heads at all.
It was only then that the engineering troops, under cover of fire, rushed to the gate of the inner city to pile explosives.
Five hundred kilograms of explosives were detonated, and the whole earth trembled. The city wall, which seemed to be extremely strong, completely flew into the sky in such an explosion.
Bricks, soil, and wood fell high, and even Wehrmacht soldiers were injured.
"Captain Jin, the commander tells you not to rush in and continue to torture the defenders with firepower."
A messenger came over, stopping the soldiers from rushing into the city.
Compared with the outer city, the situation in the inner city of Jinzhou is more complicated. Any house or street may cause the sacrifice of soldiers.
Therefore, even though the gap was opened, Lou Fu still ordered to slow down the attack speed.
The soldiers were reminded and simply settled down. Across a large open space, they used muskets to continuously attack the Qing troops on the opposite city wall.
Soon after, when the rocket launchers and mortars were brought up, the Qing army became even more crazy.
They had no idea why the National Defense Forces had so many powerful and abominable weapons. But he could only be beaten, unable to fight back, and helplessly watch the people around him die.
This kind of pain caused the Qing army's fighting will to quickly drain away.
Li Sutai thought hard and couldn't think of a way to counterattack. He could only listen to the explosions one after another ringing in his ears.
The corpses that were carried off the city wall passed by him in an endless stream, and they were already piled up in the back.
Two-thirds of the more than 10,000 Qing troops, including their families and civilians, had been killed in the battle.
Although there are plenty of weapons and food in the inner city, if the fight continues like this, the result will not change.
"Tell the reinforcements coming from Shenyang to stop at Guangning and not to move forward. We can withdraw and rendezvous. Maybe we can hold on longer."
Li Shutai had to give up Jinzhou.
He decided to guard Guangning together with the reinforcements from Shenyang.
Guangning is the gateway to Shenyang and the only way to go. Only by concentrating troops here can it be possible to block the National Defense Forces and ensure the safety of Shenyang.
Only when Dorgon returns with the main force of the Manchu Qing Dynasty can the crisis be turned around.
Li Shutai had already guessed that Dorgon would come back from the Mongolian grasslands and would never take the Western Liaoning Corridor.
He also thought of luring the National Defense Forces to the gates of Guangning City, waiting until Dorgon led his troops to return, and attacking from the east and west to turn defeat into victory.
However, what he didn't know was that Lou Fu's target was never him.
After completely occupying Jinzhou, Lou Fu took the time to rest and reorganize his troops while waiting for new troops to arrive.
When there were three more security divisions here in Jinzhou, intelligence from within the customs was also sent over.
After being convinced that Dorgon had left the Mongolian grassland, Lou Fu took action.
He sent two security divisions north to Guangning to contain Li Shutai. Another security division was asked to guard Jinzhou and coordinate the northern and southern fronts.
Then the two main regiments on the Tashan defense line were transferred back, and the fourth division was fully loaded and went straight to the Xilamulun River.
If the Manchus wanted to return to Liaodong, they had to ask whether they agreed.
