Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 515: Ming. Extermination. Clan.
There is not much to say about the fall of Shanhaiguan.

Again, the importance of a pass often changes depending on the current situation.

When the Manchu rebellion was still confined to the northeast, Shanhaiguan was naturally the top priority, but after the Qing army marched into the pass in large numbers, the importance of this place was reduced to the point where it was dispensable.

Of course, this does not mean that the resistance of the Shanhaiguan defenders was not tenacious enough.

After all, the defenders of this place had long been replaced by the elite Eight Banners. Even though there were only a thousand men in this huge defense system, it still caused some trouble to Hu Maozhen who was responsible for this task.

But then again, a defense line can only take care of one side. When a huge fleet appeared behind Shanhaiguan, there was no suspense about its fall.

In the end, Hu Maozhen's troops captured Shanhaiguan Pass in just two hours with the assistance of warships and artillery. Afterwards, the north and south wing cities fell one after another. The defense line that had blocked the Qing Dynasty for many years returned to the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

There is no need to go into details about what happened next.

Due to the war within the Great Wall, not only around Shanhaiguan, but also outside the Great Wall and in Beijing, not many troops could be gathered.

When Hu Maozhen's troops were ready for battle, only a hundred or so warships that Jinzhou Wei had conscripted from Korea appeared within a hundred miles of Shanhaiguan.

Faced with these ships equipped only with simple close-combat firearms, the Ming navy did not hold back at all. If the Korean generals had not seen the opportunity early, the Korean navy would probably have suffered another complete annihilation.

At this point, not only did Korea give up its plan to help the Qing court, but Kim Ja-jeon and the Crown Prince of Korea also began to adjust their own ideas.

After a few days, the news that the Ming army had captured Shanhaiguan spread everywhere, and the already complicated situation immediately became strange.

After all, the main force of the Ming army was still on the Huai River line and had not even crossed the Yellow River.

Under such circumstances, what was the point of them capturing Shanhaiguan?

"Great Khan, the prince has already rejected our request to return the troops. If we go and ask him again, I'm afraid we will be in trouble."

Hearing the reminder from the general beside him, Gunbu couldn't help but hesitate, but there was new news this morning, and he still felt a little uneasy.

"Eat it if you want. We still have to go back early. At worst, we can give up all our wealth and lives. Do we think the Manchus dare to completely tear their faces apart?"

It has to be said that Gunbu's words were well-founded.

Although the Mongols south of the desert openly submitted to the Qing Dynasty, and the Qing court's control over the Mongolian tribes became increasingly stronger, at this point in time the relationship between the two sides still has a stronger sense of cooperation. Tribes like Gunbu still have extremely strong strategic significance to the Qing Dynasty.

What's more, the behavior of the Dzungars this time was too abnormal, and it would be beneficial to both families to drive them away in time.

With these reasons in mind, Gunbu had the courage to request a withdrawal again.

After about three or two incense sticks of time, the central army's tent appeared in Gunbu's field of vision. After he thought about what to say in his mind, he strode inside.

There is no need to elaborate on the greetings between the two sides, but when he saw Dorgon's gloomy face, he couldn't help but feel worried.

According to his original thought, his request was reasonable, and even if the other party was unwilling to let him go, he should persuade them with kind words. But now Dorgon, who was sitting at the end of the tent, was very unhappy with his arrival. Under such circumstances, even if he was made of clay, he could not help but get a little angry.

"Your Highness, there was news this morning that the Junggars did not plunder cattle and sheep as usual and retreated directly." Dorgon's face darkened a little before he finished speaking. However, the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. Gunbu gritted his teeth and continued, "In my opinion, they probably suffered a great loss at the hands of the Russians or the Yarkand people. If I don't go back, I'm afraid the grassland will be in chaos."

After he finished speaking, Gunbu looked at Dorgon again, but to his surprise, the other party not only did not give any response, but actually stood up and walked towards the map hanging next to him.

Dorgon's behavior made Gunbu feel that he was being disrespected.

He thought he had explained the whole story clearly, and even if Dorgon did not understand the consequences of allowing the Dzungars to wreak havoc on the grassland, he should not say a word to him.

At that time, he would be able to continue the conversation and tell the details of what happened on the grassland.

But now.
"Your Majesty, our pasture is adjacent to Longxing in the east and Beijing and Shanxi in the south. If we don't stop them with all our strength, the Junggars may take advantage of the lack of troops in the north to attack from Zhangjiakou. It will be troublesome to fight on two fronts."

It must be said that Gunbu's words were quite heavy, but according to the report from the visitor, the Dzungars did not bring any cattle, sheep or slaves with them this time, and they relied entirely on looting along the way. With such an arrangement, there would be no problem for them to gallop on the grassland, but it would be impossible for them to rule the Central Plains like the Qing Dynasty did.

It was obvious that he was intimidating Dorgon based on the information gap due to his attitude, but to his surprise, after he finished speaking, Dorgon was still staring at the map in a daze, as if he was unaware of such serious consequences.

At this point, Gunbu also noticed that Dorgon's behavior was unusual. He then took two steps towards the map and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty?"

"What would happen if a tribe of several hundred thousand people entered your pasture from the Han area?"

Faced with Dorgon's confusing question, Gunbu was immediately filled with doubts, but the other party was a prince of the upper kingdom, and he was just a leader of a tribe, so even if he was confused, he could only answer truthfully.

"May I ask, Your Majesty, is this tribe an enemy or a friend?"

"It's the enemy."

"I'll ask you again, Your Majesty, are all these hundreds of thousands of people skilled in the art of fighting or are there any old or weak people among them?"

"About 80% are elderly or weak."

Dorgon did not turn around while speaking. Gunbu's attention was completely focused on the problem and he did not pay attention to this. After he understood the situation, he weighed it in his mind and then began to answer.

"If we can win, we will first kill those tens of thousands of people who controlled the swords. Then the remaining people can be given to the participating tribes. If we can't win, it's easy too. We can just harass them along the way. Anyway, the old and weak can't walk fast. Sooner or later, we will be able to kill all those who controlled the swords!"

With a loud shout, Gunbu, who was still telling the story, immediately rushed towards the swaying Dorgon. After he stabilized him, he was planning to say a few words of concern, but when that pale face appeared in Gunbu's sight, he was so shocked that he stood there in a daze.

Normally, even if a person like Gunbu didn't react immediately, it would take a while. However, when he was about to call someone in, he found that Dorgon seemed to be muttering something.

Seeing this, he plucked up the courage to move closer to his mouth, and then a few words that seemed to be right or wrong came out.

".Ming. Exterminate. The. Clan."

(End of this chapter)