Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 241 Dorgon Allows Ming Troops to Leave the Pass
In September, heavy snow was already falling in Liaodong.

Inside Jinzhou City, Dorgon fiddled with the charcoal brazier in front of him, while his younger brother Dodo paced anxiously back and forth.

This is a square main room, somewhat like a courtyard house from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Because the Manchus invaded the south many times and captured a large number of Ming Dynasty craftsmen, the buildings outside the Great Wall gradually resembled those of the Ming Dynasty.

The Shenyang Imperial Palace bears the resemblance to the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty.

This place was originally the Jinzhou government office of the Ming Dynasty. After being captured by the Manchus, it gradually became the highest command post of the Manchus stationed in Jinzhou.

The main room is furnished with a grand master's chair, and couplets are hung on both sides of the wall facing the main entrance, with a landscape mural in the middle.

The courtyard outside was covered with snow, and the chairs and wooden couches inside the house were covered with fox fur. Dorgon sat on one side of the wooden couch, with a charcoal brazier in front of him crackling with fire.

"Stop turning."

Dodo's pacing back and forth annoyed Dorgon.

He threw the wooden stick in his hand into the brazier, raised his head and glared at Dodo, saying, "No matter how much you spin, you won't kill the Ming people."

"Brother!"

Dodo strode up to Dorgon, leaned forward, clapped his hands, and said with an anxious expression, "Don't you think about what will happen if Wu Sangui can't stop the Ming people?"

“He couldn’t stop it anyway, and I didn’t expect him to be able to.”

Dorgon, however, calmed down and looked at Dodo, saying, "You know how powerful the Ming people are. There are only a hundred of them."

He held up a finger and shook it vigorously, saying, "Our army of 100,000 was almost crushed by them. Do you think Wu Sangui, even if he were to defend Ningyuan City, could be a match for the Ming people?"

"What should I do?"

Dodo's expression grew even more anxious. He put his hands behind his back, looked at the heavy snow outside, and frowned, saying, "With the snow so heavy now, will the Ming people come after spring?"

"Spring?"

Dorgon sneered, "If nothing unexpected happens, after Ningyuan is captured, it will be Jinzhou's turn soon."

Ningyuan is only 40 kilometers away from Jinzhou as the crow flies, but the actual distance is more than 50 kilometers.

This morning, Wu Sangui's messenger arrived in Jinzhou, saying that the Ming army had arrived in Ningyuan the night before and requesting that they send troops to rescue them immediately.

Judging by the dates, they should have already started attacking Ningyuan yesterday.

Dorgon did not send troops to rescue Wu Sangui, but instead sent the messenger back to tell him to hold the city for several days and that he would come over as soon as he had assembled a large army.

However, the Qing high command actually blocked the news of the Ming army's arrival, and no one knew that the Ming army was already in Ningyuan.

The reason they did this was to see the true strength of the Ming army.

Therefore, reinforcements would definitely not be sent. Wu Sangui was just a suicide mission. They only sent some scout teams to see what the Ming army's strength was.

Now is the time for them to anxiously await news.

Upon hearing Dorgon's words, Dodo exclaimed in astonishment, "With such heavy snowfall, and the colder it gets further north, and the roads becoming rugged and difficult to traverse, aren't they afraid we'll cut off their supply lines?"

"If every Ming soldier had the fighting strength of a hundred men, why would they fear us cutting off their supply lines?"

Dorgon shook his head: "Besides, even if the rest of the Ming soldiers are just ordinary soldiers, those hundred men would die if you went to cut off their supply lines, even if you were only a few hundred paces away."

Dodo was dejected and sighed, "How could this be? How could this be? The Mandate of Heaven should have belonged to our Great Qing, why has it turned out this way?"

"Who knows?"

Dorgon also let out a long sigh.

Just then, Mele'ezhen Suna, the deputy commander of the Plain White Banner and a general under Dorgon, rushed in, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report."

"Say it."

Dorgon's brothers, who were waiting for news, immediately looked at him.

Suna, still shaken, stammered, "The scout who went to gather information just now came back. He said... he said..."

"What are you saying? Where is he? Can't we just send that servant over himself?"

Dodo was somewhat annoyed.

Only Dorgon noticed Suna's choice of words. He said that he remembered sending a whole Niru (a unit of military rank) of scouts.

In the Manchu military system, a Niru was not actually three hundred men, but rather three hundred households. Each household contributed one able-bodied man, which is why it was said to be three hundred men.

In reality, a Niru (a unit of military corps) is not always fully staffed for battles. Usually, only a few dozen people are needed for a combat mission. Only in battles that concern the safety of the entire Manchu people will the whole tribe be mobilized for combat.

Therefore, each Niru (military unit) actually only had about fifty scouts.

Even so, these fifty men were still brave and skilled in ordinary field battles, and when they encountered hundreds of Ming cavalry, they were enough to defeat or even annihilate any small Ming army they saw.

However, judging from Suna's tone, it seemed that only one of the fifty people had returned.
"The scout is dead."

Suna gritted his teeth and said, "His entire arm was broken, and he was almost drained of blood when he came back."

After a moment of silence, Dodo asked, "What did he say?"

"He said he saw gods whispering in the sky, and the messengers of the gods made a great sound, urging the people of Ningyuan City to surrender. The sound could be heard throughout the entire city of Ningyuan."

Suna said in an incredulous tone, "Not long after, Wu Sangui's men rebelled, captured Wu Sangui, and then left the city without staying in it. They found them hiding in the mountains and killed them from a distance. Only Long'a escaped, but he died too."

"Whispers of the gods?"

Dorgon and Dodo exchanged a glance, their eyes also filled with disbelief.

Unconsciously.

The two of them imagined a scene in their minds.

A deity hovered above Ningyuan City, overlooking the entire city. His voice seemed to possess some kind of magic, driving the people in the city into madness.

Perhaps to them, whether it was Dorgon, Dodo, or those low-ranking Manchu scouts, the drones hovering in the sky were indeed no different from divine messengers.

"So, Wu Sangui surrendered before the battle even began?"

Dodo asked tentatively.

"He did not surrender, but his men did."

Suna said.

Dorgon waved his hand and said in a low voice, "You can go out now."

"Yes, then this servant will take his leave."

Suna left anxiously, filled with fear.

Of the fifty scouts who went to investigate, only one returned. He even had his right shoulder broken, his entire arm severed, and he bled to death, bringing back a terrifying message that truly unsettled everyone who knew the situation.

After he left, Dorgon and his brothers remained silent.

They had witnessed the power of automatic rifles firsthand, and it was obvious that the entire scout unit they had sent out had been wiped out by the enemy's strange, flame-breathing weapon.

Considering how many cavalrymen had been beaten to a pulp and how many tall horses had fallen, this outcome was not unexpected for them.

But unexpectedly, there were messengers from the heavens.

"Was that Ming Taizu (Emperor Hongwu) really a deity who descended to earth and brought messengers to proclaim the truth to all directions?"

Dodo muttered to himself, fear in his eyes. "Alas."

Dorgon sighed, looked towards the door, and suddenly said, "Let's withdraw the troops and return to Shenyang. We need to think of a way to discuss withdrawing from Liaodong and returning to Halavan."

"Back to Harawen?"

Dodo raised his voice by twenty octaves and shrieked, "How could that be? The kings will not agree to it."

"Then what should we do? The best way is to persuade them to retreat to Harawen and preserve the strength of our Great Qing. Do you really want your prince to lose his life here?"

Dorgon suddenly roared at Dodo, "Stay in Jinzhou? If we are defeated and die here, we will die. If we are defeated and flee back to Shenyang, we will still die! At that time, not only will we brothers die without a burial place, but countless sons will also lose their lives!"

The roar stunned Dodo, who sat back down in his chair, looking utterly dejected.

Dorgon was indeed the only backbone of the Qing Dynasty capable of shouldering the main responsibility at that time.

He knew that the Ming army was unstoppable because they captured Ningyuan without lifting a finger and then rushed to Jinzhou without stopping for a moment.

They were left with only two options: fight to the death or retreat.

If they fight to the death, they don't know how many people will die.

Even if Dorgon were to immediately withdraw his troops back to Shenyang upon discovering the enemy's strength, it would still be a significant blow to him. At the very least, he would be subject to a council of princes, which would strip him of his power as regent.

However, withdrawing troops and abandoning Jinzhou, which they had fought so hard to capture, to return to Shenyang would certainly be met with criticism.

Moreover, Dorgon understood that retreating to Shenyang would not stop the Ming army.

The only hope now is to immediately escape back to Shenyang, pack up all the valuables, move away the looted goods from over the years, and even leave their hometown of Jianzhou behind, fleeing north to Halawen (the Greater Khingan Mountains).

Only if it were colder and farther away would the Ming army likely stop pursuing them.

However, the Manchu people were not a monolithic entity.

His rise to power was also the result of compromises reached at the council of kings.

If he were to retreat in disgrace without even fighting a single battle, having lost both Ningyuan and Jinzhou, the princes, unaware of the situation on this side, would likely begin to doubt his abilities.

That will be even more troublesome.

The two brothers sat in the house, their eyes somewhat blank.

After a long while, Dorgon said again, "We can't wait any longer. The Ming people are already on their way. They set off yesterday, and even though the snow is too heavy and their supplies are plentiful, they will arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest. We must make a decision as soon as possible."

After a moment of silence, Dorgon said, "Then let's retreat to Shenyang first."

"Well, that's all."

Dorgon nodded.

"Brother."

"Ok?"

"I suddenly wondered, why are we risking our lives for those old fogies in the government?"

"What do you mean?"

Dorgon frowned.

Dodo truthfully stated, "The Ming are now powerful, and they will inevitably attack us regardless. As things stand, the Ming are now at odds with us, and we fear the annihilation of our clan. If those old fogies in the court still cling to the idea that they can defeat the Ming with their geographical advantage and are unwilling to give up the prosperous land of Shenyang, then let them all die. We will lead our clansmen from the Two White Banners away from Shenyang and continue north. With our strength, we are capable of unifying the various Jurchen tribes in the north. In the future, we can learn from our father Khan, accumulate strength, and wait for the Ming to decline. At least for now, we should not accompany those people in the court to our deaths."

"you!"

Dorgon was furious and raised his hand to slap Dodo.

But as soon as he raised his hand, he slowly stopped.

A look of struggle flashed across his face, and his features became increasingly distorted.

In a way, Dodo was right.

They were willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty and become its dogs again, but times have changed, and the Ming Dynasty no longer wants them.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, it's clear they intend to march on Shenyang and exterminate the Manchus.

If they choose to separate from the Qing Dynasty now and flee north with their tribes, they might still have a glimmer of hope.

Staying in Shenyang and persuading the princes who had enjoyed years of wealth and luxury to leave that prosperous place would be as difficult as ascending to heaven, not to mention that Emperor Shunzhi was above them.

Thinking of this, Dorgon hesitated and muttered to himself, "But they are all our people, our relatives."

"They won't listen to advice, so who can they blame? Brother, I think we should withdraw our troops back to Shenyang now, pack up our things, and then leave with our own men. If they want to leave, they can leave; if they don't want to, they can stay in Shenyang and wait to die."

Dodo had witnessed firsthand how Zhou An slaughtered the two thousand elite knights he had sent out. Hearing about the even more terrifying divine messenger, he was terrified and advised Dorgon, "At least we cannot be buried with them."

"."

Dorgon remained silent for a long time before finally sighing, "You're right, let's go, withdraw the troops!"

Without further hesitation, he flicked his sleeves and quickly left the house to give orders in the camp. Dodo followed behind him, preparing to lead the 100,000-strong Manchu army deployed in Jinzhou back to Shenyang first.

soon.

Two days later, the Ming army braved the wind and snow to reach Jinzhou City.

The weather during the Little Ice Age was absolutely incredible.

It's only September and the north is already experiencing heavy snowfall, making you shiver from the cold.

The Hongwu soldiers were all dressed in modern winter clothes, with thermal underwear underneath, military cotton-padded coats on top, cotton shoes on their feet, and even goggles. They were completely covered up and remained unharmed.

The soldiers of the Chongzhen era suffered greatly. Although they had their own measures to keep warm, Zhu Yuanzhang had vigorously promoted cotton in the early Ming Dynasty, and cotton clothing and quilts had long been popular among the people in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, greatly increasing their ability to keep warm in winter.

But it was an ancient way of keeping warm, and it was far inferior to the modern methods used by the Hongwu soldiers.

Even though Zhu De had cracked down on corruption in the army and provided them with enough cotton-padded clothes, the soldiers still had to struggle to withstand the severe cold. In addition, the heavy snow and deep snow made the march slow.

However, this was within Lao Zhu's expectations. He planned to rest in Jinzhou for a few days first, and after the supplies arrived, he would have the soldiers put on another cotton coat before heading to Shenyang.

Although that would make the soldiers too bulky to fight, the soldiers in the Chongzhen era were originally intended to serve as auxiliary troops and laborers.

They're good to go; they can just deliver supplies and push around the cannons. We don't expect them to fight at all.

As a result, it took three days to travel more than 50 kilometers.

What Old Zhu didn't expect was that when he arrived outside Jinzhou City, he found that it was an empty city, completely emptied out, with nothing left behind.

"The Jurchens are really like rabbits, they run really fast."

Old Zhu, riding on horseback, his thick felt hat whitened by the wind and snow, smiled and said to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di also laughed and said, "With Father coming in person, they naturally fled at the mere sight of him."

"Then let them live a few more days before they enter the city."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "The snow has been too heavy these past few days. I'll have Yunfeng send over a batch of cotton-padded clothes first. Once the snow subsides in a couple of days, we'll head straight for Shenyang. I want to leave no one alive in Shenyang, and to slaughter every single Manchu!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Di accepted the order and immediately directed his troops into the city.

(End of this chapter)