Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 505 Ping Liao (9)

After the Qian army captured Lushun, it was equivalent to entering the heart of Liaodong. Now there were three paths in front of Zheng Chenggong and Yu Youtian. The first was to march straight in, first capture Gaizhou, then go north to Liaoyang, and finally go straight to Shenyang.

The second option was to go eastward, invade North Korea, support Gao Jinku, and jointly annihilate Bolo.

The third option was to go west through Gaizhou, threaten the rear of Jinzhou, and work with Zhao Yongping's army to break the Ningjin defense line, then join forces and attempt to capture Shenyang.

Zheng Chenggong and Yu Youtian held different opinions on this. Zheng Chenggong intended to march northward, capture the leader first, and capture Shenyang in one fell swoop, thus destroying the Qing Dynasty.

Yu Youtian, on the other hand, held a conservative attitude. His first choice was to support Gao Jinku. His reason was that there were only 10,000 people in Bolo in Pyongyang, and Gao Jinku had already surrounded Pyongyang. He should pick the soft persimmon first. After all, the Qing army still had heavy troops stationed on the Ningjin defense line.

The second was to threaten the rear of the Ningjin defense line, and finally to take a risky move and head north to Shenyang.

However, no matter what, the Qian army now has a huge advantage. Strategically, the situation of the Qing army is already extremely bad. Only the Ningjin defense line can stop the Qian army. Whether it is Korea or the Duerbi area, the Qing army cannot stop the two Qian armies for a long time, not to mention that new troops have appeared in Lushun now.

Zheng Chenggong scoffed at Yu Youtian's worries. Zheng Chenggong was the commander-in-chief of this journey. Yu Youtian only had the right to make suggestions, but the decision was in Zheng Chenggong's hands.

Zheng Chenggong said bluntly: "The enemy court is at the end of its rope, there is no need to be timid. I have made up my mind to drive straight to Shenyang and put an end to the Liao rebellion in one fell swoop!"

Afterwards, Yu Youtian's 10,000 firearms soldiers and Zheng's 10,000 infantry, totaling 20,000 people, marched north to Gaizhou and surrendered without a fight.

In Jinzhou City, Baiyintu was terribly disheartened when he heard that Qian's army had appeared in Lushun. The Qing Dynasty was surrounded by enemies and did not have enough troops to maintain the front line.

This was the first time Baiyintu had written a letter requesting evacuation since he had defended the Ningjin Line. This line of defense, which had exhausted countless Korean villagers, did not play a significant role when the Qing court arrived at the Qian army's attack.

The Qian Dynasty was approaching from all sides, and the news quickly spread in Shengjing City. No matter how the Qing court tried to cover it up, it was useless. Even the Qing newspapers, which boasted about the impregnability of Liaodong every day, were now silent.

There was chaos in Shengjing City. The families of the bannermen were in mourning. The soldiers and civilians in the city, carrying the elderly and children, scrambled to flee the city.

There was a disabled old flag bearer with a broken hand, who finally squeezed out of the city gate with his family.

The kid next to him couldn't help but ask, "Marfa, why do we have to go back home? Don't we want the house here anymore?"

The old flag guard looked at the official road, which was packed with people. Most of these people were women, children, the elderly and the young, with very few young men.

Countless dependents of the Eight Banners, carrying the elderly and children, walked with difficulty, some carrying luggage and children, some pushing wheelbarrows, and some sitting in mule carts, walking with difficulty in the crowd. This team had no head in sight and no tail in sight.

The old flag bearer's cloudy eyes were filled with tears. He didn't understand. After decades of fighting, he lost an arm, one son died in Jiangning, one died in Huguang, one died in Guanzhong, and another son was in Pyongyang. It was said that the son was now surrounded in the city and his life or death was unknown. The only grandson left in his family was this little grandson.

After listening to his grandson's words, he couldn't help but wonder, why did he do this?

After a long while, he slowly said: "Because this is not our home, so we have to go back to our hometown!"

The little grandson seemed to understand, but he didn't quite know what it meant. It was like a speck of dust from the times, which would be like an unbearable rock when it fell on an ordinary person.

At this time, inside the Shengjing Palace, the eunuchs and palace maids were already in chaos.

Fulin remembered what the Empress Dowager had said to him late at night a few days ago. He had never been a real emperor for a single day, but the Qing Dynasty seemed to be on the verge of destruction, and he had become a king of a fallen country. Thinking of this, he could not help but burst into tears.

Fulin cried to Xiaozhuang: "Mother, am I a king who lost his country?"

Xiaozhuang stroked Fulin's head and said firmly: "Emperor, you are the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. You must not cry outside!"

Fulin was unable to remain calm. He said in a sad tone, "The Qian army is approaching from all sides, but my Qing Dynasty has no reinforcements. The fall of the city and the destruction of the country are not far away!"

Just then, there was a commotion outside the palace. It turned out that Jirgalang came outside the palace with a team of guards.

Jirgalang originally planned to make preparations quietly and let the emperor and the empress dowager leave Shengjing first and return to Hetunala City, but he did not expect that the news would leak so quickly.

Jirgalang knew that there must be people from the Qingluan Guards fanning the flames, but now Jirgalang was already overwhelmed and had neither the energy to catch these rats nor the point in catching them.

The most urgent task is to transfer the emperor and the empress dowager safely. Now the people in Shengjing City are in panic. Although there are still 10,000 defenders, the people leaving the city are almost blocking the city gates. If a team of light cavalry from the Qian army arrives, the consequences will be disastrous.

Although the probability is very small, Jirgalang dare not gamble.

As soon as they entered the palace, before Jirgalang could speak, Xiaozhuang spoke first: "Prince Zheng, what is the situation in the city?"

Jirgalang shook his head and said, "People are in a panic. Many of the Eight Banners' families have left the city. Even the defenders in the city are worried."

Xiaozhuang asked: "Now that the state has come to this, what should we do?"

Jirgalang bowed and replied: "Please, Queen Mother, Your Majesty, leave the city quickly and move to Hetunala City immediately."

Xiaozhuang asked in a deep voice: "Is Shengjing really undefendable?"

Jirgalang sighed and said, "Once the Qian army arrives at the gates of the city, we will be doomed to perish together."

When the Qian Dynasty's offensive became more and more massive, Jirgalang transported a small amount of supplies and weapons to Hetunala City just in case. However, it was just a casual move at the time. Until the Qian Dynasty opened up a new front in Lushun, Jirgalang had become pessimistic about this war.

The dynasties in the Central Plains throughout history rarely exercised substantive rule over the areas outside the Great Wall. Although the Ming Dynasty also had the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, the area it actually controlled was only in the Liaohe Plain.

Hetunala is surrounded by mountains and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Escaping to the mountains and forests was Jirgalang's last choice.

Xiaozhuang nodded and said, "In this case, let Prince Zheng make the final decision. The fate of the Qing Dynasty will be entrusted to Prince Zheng!"

Jirgalang was about to go down to prepare for the Emperor and Empress Dowager to leave the city, when Fulin suddenly asked, "Uncle Prince, is the Qing Dynasty really going to perish?"

Jirgalang turned around and comforted him: "As long as the emperor is here, the Qing Dynasty will still be here!"