Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 299 Ambush
In the Qing army tent, Hauge looked at the secret letter he had seized, his face filled with rage.

"Good, good Subai, good Dorgon, these treacherous slaves all deserve to die"

Haoge roared in a low voice, with murderous intent on his face. Not long after Haoge met Zhu Lang, Haoge received the intelligence sent back by the spy in the capital in the army. Jirgalang was actually dismissed from the right to regent, and Duoduo actually became the new regent.
After Hauge confirmed the news, he was shocked by the speed of the Ming court's intelligence, and he also dared not to underestimate the intelligence provided by the Ming court.

Hauge increased the number of people to monitor Subai. Three days ago, Hauge discovered that Subai secretly left the camp and returned. After some hesitation, he finally sent someone to disguise himself and secretly captured Subai.

After Hauge read the secret letter seized from Subai and others, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

The secret letter not only recorded in detail the specific circumstances of Hauge's embezzlement of the spoils after defeating the Western Army since entering Sichuan, but also verified the evidence of Hauge's false reporting of military merits for his subordinates and his appointment of Jisai, the brother of the criminal Yangshan, as the commander of the army.
Since the Qing army entered the pass, the army has conquered various places. According to the rules of the Qing court, the spoils of war must be reported to the court, and then the court will distribute them as rewards. However, in fact, it has long been the norm for the Qing army to embezzle the spoils during the war.

The Qing court was well aware of this, and generally turned a blind eye to the various armies embezzling the spoils.
If these things are not investigated by the court, they are just minor offenses, but once they are brought to the surface, they are serious crimes.

If embezzlement of captured items was just an unspoken rule in the army, then Hauge's false reporting of military achievements for his subordinates was enough to put Hauge to death, and appointing the brother of a criminal as a high-ranking general was also a serious crime.
Why did Hauge use Jisai? Because Jisai's brother was Yangshan.

In the past, He Luo would betray Haoge and falsely accuse Yangshan of attempting to support Haoge for treason at the beginning of Shunzhi's reign. It was Yangshan who refused to admit his guilt, so Haoge was not implicated too much.
Afterwards, Yangshan was convicted of treason and his entire family was beheaded and thrown into the streets. The rest of Yangshan's family was also implicated and all were stripped of their positions and demoted to commoners.

At first, Hauge could not protect himself, so he did not dare to say much. But after he was reinstated as a nobleman and took command of the army the year before last, he naturally transferred Jisai into the army and entrusted him with important tasks. If not, who would work hard for him in the future?

Each of these three charges was a serious crime punishable by death. Jirgalang was deprived of his position as regent by Dorgon just because he built a few more tiles on his mansion. If Hauge's three crimes were made public, Hauge would surely be put to death.

Haoge looked at the secret letter in his hand, his face became more and more angry. He was still fighting for the court on the front line, but Dorgon was already collecting evidence of his crimes and wanted to put him to death.

The donkey is killed after it has done its job. The millstone has not even been unloaded yet, but Dorgon is already so impatient. How could Hauge not be angry?

Haoge glanced at Jueluo Bahana below and said in a cold voice
"Bring up the slave Suba."

Jueluo Bahana took the order and left. Not long after, Subai was taken into the tent.

At this time, Su Bai's hands were tied behind his back and a black hood was on his head. As soon as Su Bai entered the tent, he began to threaten

"You are so brave. Do you know who I am? I am the commander of the Qing Dynasty's Zhengbai Banner Guard..."

"Unhook his hood"

Jueluo Bahana took off his hood. Subai was furious at first, but after seeing Hauge above the military tent, a trace of panic suddenly flashed across his face.

But Su Bai thought about his previous arrangements, and his heart was slightly determined. There was no change in his expression, and he said in a deep voice:

"Why is Prince Su here? Those evil thieves who attacked me have been killed by Prince Su."

Haoge looked at Subai below with a blank expression on his face, but he ignored what Subai said and said directly

"I remember that before entering Sichuan, I ordered you to stay in Hanzhong. Why did you leave your post and enter Sichuan without receiving a transfer order?"

"Prince Su has misunderstood. I was ordered by the court to come to Sichuan to do work. I came here to obey the order and did not leave my post without permission. General Nikan can testify for me on this matter."

Subai's eyes flickered slightly, but Hauge continued to speak

"I am the commander-in-chief of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Since I was ordered to enter the army to do something, why didn't I report to the military tent? Instead, I was so secretive and entered the camp privately?"

Hearing this, Su Bai became flustered again, but he still managed to remain calm and replied:

"I was negligent in this matter. The order from the court was quite urgent, and this matter was a private matter of the Plain White Banner, so I did not disturb His Royal Highness Prince Su."

"Private matter, what you, Subai, want to do, it can't be my private matter, right?"

Subai felt something was wrong when he heard Haoge's sneer, but he still spoke.

"Prince Su is joking. How can the things in the Zhengbai Banner be related to Prince Su?"

Hearing that Su Bai was still quibbling at this point, Haoge completely lost his patience, his face looked grim, and he shouted directly:
"Well, you are such a loyal servant. If that is the case, I will let you die knowingly."

"In the battle of Xichong, the Zhenglan Banner secretly hid the Western bandits and seized no less than one million taels of silver. The Zhenglan Banner lieutenant Xiergen also falsely claimed military merits..."

Hauge read out the contents of the secret letter one by one, and when Subai heard the contents of the secret letter, the last bit of luck in his heart was completely dissipated.

He did not carry the secret letter with him, but had it kept by a personal guard. If anything unexpected happened, the guard would flee first and deliver the secret letter to the capital.
The secret letter was found at this time, which meant that Hauge had probably been targeting him for a long time, and his personal guards who were accompanying him this time were probably wiped out.
"Slave dog, I am fighting for my country in Sichuan Province, but you are secretly trying to kill me."

“Damn it, damn it”

The more Hauge spoke, the angrier he became. He suddenly stood up and threw the secret letter in his hand at Subai's face, then kicked him to the ground. Blood immediately oozed from the corner of Subai's mouth.

The respectful look on Subai's face disappeared at this moment. Subai looked fierce, staring at Haoge above him, and said

"I am here on the orders of the imperial court to monitor the military situation in Sichuan Province. Your Highness the Regent Prince is also aware of my entry into Sichuan. Prince Su had better think it through..."

When Hauge heard the word "Regent", veins on his forehead throbbed and his expression suddenly turned cold.
"Well, you are indeed Dorgon's servant, loyal and courageous enough."

"What this king likes most is a tough guy like you. Since you are so loyal, you should go to the underworld and wait for your master first."

After Hauge finished speaking, he drew out his sword and stabbed it directly into Subai's chest. Blood splattered all over Hauge's face.

Suba screamed, subconsciously glanced at the long knife that pierced his chest, and then he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

Subai's eyes were wide open, blood gushed out from under his body, staining the ground red. Until the moment of his death, Subai still couldn't believe that Haoge actually dared to attack him.
Hauge drew out his long sword, and then with a clang, he threw the blood-red long sword to the ground.
Hauge's face was covered in blood, but he seemed unaware of it. He just stood in the tent with a gloomy look on his face.

Jueluo Bahana, who was standing by, looked at Subai lying on the ground with a trace of panic on his face. Subai was the commander of the White Banner Guards and a real confidant of Dorgon, but now he was killed by Hauge himself.
Jueluo Baha looked terrified, but Haoge was calm. Although he was the one who secretly sent people to capture Subai, it was impossible to keep this a secret.

Subai secretly went to Sichuan to investigate the corruption and illegal crimes of the Zhenglan Banner, and then disappeared inexplicably. Even if Dorgon had no evidence, he would definitely believe that it was Hauge who did it.

But it doesn't matter. As long as he insists on not returning to the court, he will break up with Dorgon sooner or later. It doesn't matter whether Subai is killed or not.

After Hauge reached an agreement with Zhu Lang, he hesitated a lot. Although Nikan could not be used by him, these were 4,000 Eight Banners soldiers. At this time, he personally sent these people to the Ming court. Hauge was hesitant about this.

Although Gui Jianguo threatened him many times, Haoge was not that afraid of returning to the court.
In Hauge's view, he was the eldest son of Huang Taiji and held the Zhenglan Banner. No matter how domineering Dorgon was, he would not dare to force him too much, and the nobles of the various banners in the court would not allow him to do whatever he wanted.

It sounds good to say that you have your own army, but when you actually do it, the pressure involved is unimaginable.

This is to threaten the entire court with one's own strength. Who dares to say that he can win?

But after seizing the secret letter from Subai, Hauge finally had no more hesitation and made up his mind to get rid of Nikan and others.
Subai had been staying in Hanzhong before. This time, he had been in Sichuan secretly for only more than a month. In such a short time, how could Subai have investigated the Zhenglan Banner's embezzlement of the captured goods so clearly? There must be someone in the army cooperating with Subai, and this person must be Nikan.

This Nikan had actually begun to secretly collect evidence of the crimes of the Zhenglan Banner when he defeated the Western bandits. It was obviously premeditated. If this was the case, then it was no wonder that Hauge was so angry.

"Order all the generals in the army to come over. I have something important to discuss." Jueluo Bahana took the order and withdrew. Soon, Nikan Aobai and other generals from various flags gathered in the big tent.

Haoge had changed his clothes by now, and there was no trace of blood on his body. Haoge glanced at the generals below and said:

"We have been in Bozhou for half a month. The Ming army in Bozhou is as timid as mice and is unwilling to fight. However, this Ming army has many firearms. If we attack by force, we will suffer heavy losses."

"In my opinion, this Ming army has made up its mind to defend to the death. It is not a good idea to waste time like this under the city of Bozhou."

"The Ming army is backed by a strong city, while we have come a long way and have to transport food and money through hundreds of miles of mountain roads. If we continue to waste time like this, we will definitely suffer, so I have decided to withdraw first."

"If the Ming army dares to attack, we will fight them in the wild. If the Ming army continues to defend, we will redeploy our troops along the Qijiang-Chongqing line and block the Ming court south of Qijiang. Do you have any objections?"

Upon hearing this, Aobai, Mandahai and others all nodded slightly. After half a month of confrontation, Aobai and others also discovered the difficulty of this Ming army.

The firepower of this Ming imperial army was too strong. As long as the Ming army was determined to hide in the chariot formation, no one would dare to charge into the chariot formation under such strong firepower.
The best way to deal with this kind of iron wall-like chariot camp infantry formation is to surround it in the wild, and then use cavalry to blockade and cut off the supply of the chariot camp. When the food in the camp is exhausted, the chariot formation will naturally fall without attack.
At this time, the Ming army was lined up outside the city, and they could get protection and food from Bozhou City at any time. It would be a waste of food and money to stand against them outside the city. Haoge wanted to withdraw his troops first, and Aobai and Man Dahai had no objection.
Nikan had originally firmly disagreed with coming to besiege Bozhou. Now that even Oboi and the other two did not object, it was even less likely that Nikan would object.

All the generals had no objection, so the Qing army's withdrawal to Qijiang was decided. Then Hauge began to arrange the withdrawal.
During the Qing army's withdrawal, the Bordered Yellow Banner led by Aobai and the Plain Red Banner led by Man Dahai left first, followed by the Plain Blue Banner led by Haoge, and the Plain White Bordered Red Banner led by Nikan were responsible for the rear guard and the last to withdraw.

Aobai Mandahai was able to evacuate first, so he naturally had no objection. Although Nikan was dissatisfied, Hauge was the commander-in-chief, and he dared not disobey Nikan's order to lead the retreat.
The Qing army decided to withdraw, and soon they took action. Although they decided to withdraw, they still led their troops to line up outside the city every two or three days.

The Ming troops in Bozhou City seemed to be unaware of the situation. Sometimes they went out of the city to fight against the Qing troops, and sometimes they ignored the Qing troops outside the city and just stayed in the city to defend it.

During this battle, the main force of the Qing army gradually withdrew. Aobai Mandahai was the first to withdraw, followed by Haoge's 10,000 Zhenglan Banner soldiers.

At noon, Nikan led his troops to retreat from Bozhou City again.

The Manchu soldiers and the Green Camp soldiers of the Qing army were separated into two camps, and they did not live in the same camp. After the 10,000 Green Camp surrendered soldiers returned, they still withdrew to the Green Camp camp. In the Manchu camp, only the 4,000 people led by Nikan were left.

Nikan looked at his deputy general Junta and asked

"Is there any unusual movement by the Ming army?"

"No, the Ming army still did not go out to fight today. They just fired a few cannons on the top of the city as a deterrent. Even the cavalry scouts rarely left the city in the past few days. It is obvious that they intend to defend the city to the death."

Nikan's face relaxed when he heard this. After the main force of Haoge Zhenglan Banner withdrew in the past two days, although Nikan still led his soldiers to the city to form a battle line, he was actually very worried.

There were at least 10,000 or 20,000 Ming troops in the city. If the Ming army noticed something was wrong and attacked with all their troops, Nikan would have no choice but to abandon his Green Camp soldiers and flee first.

Fortunately, the confrontation for half a month seemed to have consumed the strength of the Ming army. In the past few days, the Ming army only went out of the city to form a battle array once, and then stayed in the city without going out.

Nikan thought for a moment and then said

"Leave a Niulu to guard the Green Camp soldiers. The others should not return to the camp and should withdraw immediately."

"After we evacuate, we will inform the Green Camp surrendered soldiers tomorrow and ask them to evacuate on their own."

Zhunta took the order and withdrew. Soon Nikan and his men led 4,000 Manchu soldiers to quietly withdraw from the camp. While Nikan was evacuating, the soldiers of the Zhenglan Banner in Loushan Pass were also making their final evacuation.
Three miles outside the south gate of Loushan Pass, Liu Qijiao led two thousand imperial guards to line up at the foot of the city. Several Ming army cavalry scouts held flags and ran to the foot of the city.
On the top of the city wall, Jueluo Bahana saw the Ming army flags below the city, so he went down the city wall and led the people in the city to withdraw directly from the north gate.

After Jueluo Bahana led his men out of the city, several whistling arrows suddenly shot into the air.
The sound of arrows was heard in the city, and the south gate of Loushan Pass suddenly opened.
When Liu Qijiao saw the city gate open, he did not enter the city immediately. Instead, he ordered hundreds of cavalry to enter the city first. After confirming that all the soldiers in the city had really evacuated, he ordered the soldiers to enter the city.

After Liu Qijiao entered the city, the gate of Loushan Pass was closed again, and a group of soldiers climbed up the city wall and quickly set up artillery on the city wall.
Two days later, Nikan and his men finally arrived outside Loushan Pass. Four thousand Qing troops were waiting outside the south gate of Loushan Pass. Nikan looked at the Qing flags flying above Loushan Pass, and his face was relieved.

Nikan was about to send someone to the city to shout and ask the people to open the gates, but at this moment, there was a sudden sound of artillery fire from the top of the city.

Rumble

On the top of the city wall, thirty Portuguese cannons opened fire at the same time. Iron bullets whizzed down from the top of the city wall and hit the Qing army directly.

The Qing army evacuated very smoothly along the way, without encountering any pursuit. Except for a few forward scouts, most of the Qing soldiers were not wearing armor. What was even more terrible was that the Qing soldiers stood in a swarm under the city, completely defenseless.
The Ming army on the city wall didn't even need to aim. A bullet that hit the Qing army would hit a large group of people immediately. The Ming army killed and injured three or four hundred people in the first round of bombardment.
The Qing army below the city was suddenly bombarded and had no time to react, but the Ming army on the top of the city did not stop at all. After the first shelling, the second round of shelling sounded immediately.

One after another, the artillery shells hit the Qing army formation. At this time, the Qing army under the city finally reacted. Piles of Manchu soldiers and horses were smashed to the ground. Shocking screams rang out in the formation, and the Qing army was immediately in chaos.

In the Qing army, Nikan looked at the shells that kept coming down from the top of the city wall with a dull expression on his face. But the next moment, Nikan's face was filled with shock and anger. Nikan stared at the top of the city wall and couldn't help but shouting angrily.
"What does Hauge want to do? Is he going to rebel?"

"Retreat, immediately retreat three miles away"

Nikan looked at the roaring artillery on the top of the city and immediately ordered an evacuation. However, he didn't need to give orders at this time. The artillery on the top of the city continued to bombard, and the soldiers who had not been hit had already ridden their horses and fled to the rear in panic.
Although the Qing army was not wearing armor, fortunately everyone was riding a warhorse. Nikan led the defeated soldiers to flee three miles away and was about to gather the troops, but at this moment, a sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the ground.
Five hundred flint-haired cavalrymen wearing half armor suddenly rushed out from the east of Loushan Pass. When they were a hundred steps in front of the formation, they immediately raised their guns and fired. Bursts of gunfire rang out, and the Qing army in the front row fell down again.
The Qing army had just escaped from the range of the artillery fire and was already in a state of panic. When they heard the bursts of gunfire, they immediately fell into chaos.

Seeing the panicked fleeing army, Nikan immediately ordered his personal guards to go out and disperse these half-armored cavalry. But before Nikan's guards could act, the sound of horse hooves in the distance became louder and louder, until the entire ground shook.

To the east of Loushan Pass, five thousand fully armored Ming soldiers suddenly rushed out of the mountains.

The Ming army was divided into two parts. The front part had more than 2,000 people riding on tall Liao horses, while the rear part had more than 2,000 Gui cavalry riding on Yunnan horses. After the two Ming armies came out of the mountain road, they rushed straight to the city.

Nikan looked at the cavalry charging at him, and a trace of despair finally flashed in his eyes.

Two thousand Longxiang cavalry soldiers dressed in red cloth armor, like red iron knives, plunged directly into the Qing army formation. After repeated attacks, the unarmored Manchu soldiers finally collapsed completely.

"Beile, this is a trap set by the Ming army. We can't stop it. Let's go!"

Gushan Ezhen Zhunta of the Zhengbai Banner led dozens of personal guards and fled to Nikan in panic, ready to escort him away.
But it was too late. Nikan had already raised the central army flag in order to reorganize the army. After the Ming army ran into the Qing army, they had already set their sights on this general flag.

Jiao Lian, wearing a black iron armor, stood in the middle of the battle. Under the general's flag, the call for troops to gather sounded, and soon five hundred Dragon Cavalrymen gathered.

Jiao Lian looked at the figure under the Qing army's flag with a cold expression on his face. The army's flags were waving, but Jiao Lian stood still under the flag. The cavalry battalion commander Zhao Xing led 500 dragon cavalrymen and suddenly split into two groups to surround Nikan.
Five hundred cavalrymen gathered and rushed forward, and all the disorderly soldiers along the way were chopped down to the ground.

The two groups of Longxiang Cavalry quickly approached Nikan. Thirty steps away, hundreds of arrows had already covered Nikan and others under the general's flag. Nikan also gathered to break through and fired arrows to fight back.
However, the number of people on Nikan's side was too small. There were less than 200 guards around Nikan, and half of them had not had time to put on armor. Under the rain of arrows, dozens of Nikan's guards were killed or injured immediately.

After the rain of arrows, the cavalry of the two armies finally collided with each other. One side wanted to break through, while the other side wanted to intercept and seize the credit. The two sides immediately started a crazy fight.
When the two sides had fought each other, there were only about 400 Ming soldiers left, while Nikan had only 20 to 30 soldiers left.
"Recharge"

After the Ming army was fully assembled, Zhao Xing did not hesitate at all. He raised his saber again and more than 400 cavalrymen charged again. Hundreds of arrows fell towards the general's flag.
After the rain of arrows, only Nikan was left under the general's banner.

Nikan stood under the general's flag with his hair disheveled. A dozen Manchu guards lay on top of him, with arrows piercing his body. He was already dead.

Nikan looked at the guards who had fallen beside him, and then at the two elite soldiers of the Ming army who were being chased and killed on the field. His face was filled with grief and anger, and he suddenly shouted loudly:

"Hauge, you will die a miserable death"

At this time, Nikan didn't understand that he had been sold out by Hauge. In order to get rid of him, or to get rid of the two elite flags who obeyed Dorgon's orders, Hauge even colluded with the Ming army and killed people with borrowed knives.

Nikan stood under the broken flag, covered in blood, but Zhao Xing had a cold expression on his face. Zhao Xing raised his saber and rushed straight to the flag under the protection of more than a dozen guards.
The warhorse rushed past, and the sharp saber slashed across the neck, a hideous head flew up, and the headless body was lifted up by the huge force and directly knocked several meters away, and then fell to the ground.
With Nikan being killed, the Qing army completely collapsed. The Ming army under the city wantonly killed the fleeing Qing soldiers. In the afternoon, the shouting and killing gradually stopped. At this time, there was no one left among the thousands of Qing soldiers under Loushan Pass.

(End of this chapter)