There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 438 Charging into Shengjing

Just a few days.

Lushun, Jinzhou, Fuzhou, and even Xiong Yue City were all captured.

Of the three deputy military governorates under the Shengjing Military Prefecture (Liaodong was under the jurisdiction of the military prefecture and was not a province), one of them was eliminated.

With Xiong Yue gone, the entire Liaodong Peninsula, except for the mountainous areas, has lost its ability to resist.

With 1500 Han cavalry divisions and 500 Manchu slave troops, totaling no more than 2000 soldiers, and without even civilian laborers, they relied on merchant ships for grain transport. Yet, they captured most of the Liaodong Peninsula in just a few days.

This war was so surreal!
Of course, compared to the Southern Ming Dynasty, these are nothing.

In the early Southern Ming period, the Qing army dared to attack one province after another with only a few thousand men. The Southern Ming court was completely unable to resist and collapsed and surrendered in large numbers.

The Hongguang Emperor collapsed in a year, the Longwu Emperor collapsed in a year, the Regent Lu didn't even dare to return to the mainland, and the Shaowu Emperor was gone in a month.

What held up the Southern Ming Dynasty for eighteen years was the Great Western Army and the Great Shun Army, plus the Fujian pirate group under the command of Koxinga.

It's truly a case of pirates guarding the nation's gates, and bandits dying for the country.

The Han army captured Xiong Yue City and interrogated the captured Eight Banners generals, finally obtaining some detailed military intelligence.

In terms of the distribution of Qing troops, Gaiping County (Gaizhou), which serves as the gateway to the Liaodong Peninsula, still has the last Eight Banners garrison commander, but the number of troops is very small, only half that of Xiong Yue City, a mere 400 men.

Further north, beyond the Liaodong Peninsula, there are Haicheng (Haizhou) and Niuzhuang. Unlike the four coastal cities on the Liaodong Peninsula, these two cities are located further inland.

If the Han army were to attack Gaiping County, they could still use sea transport, but if they wanted to attack Niuzhuang City and Haicheng, they would have to switch to land transport.

Fortunately, the military strength of Niuzhuang and Haicheng was not strong. The combined permanent Eight Banners troops of the two cities could only barely reach the level of Gaiping County, which was about one-third of the garrison of Xiong Yue City.

Moreover, its combat strength is extremely worrying, but its population is much larger than that of Xiong Yue City.

Wu Liehu was currently convening a meeting with his military officers and staff: "How is it, gentlemen? We have basically taken over the Liaodong Peninsula. Should we continue to advance?"

"I think we should retreat after we reach Gaiping County at most," said Wan Wenjie, Wu Liehu's staff officer. "Gaiping is the gateway to the Liaodong Peninsula and a coastal town, so we can take it. But Niuzhuang and Haicheng have already penetrated deep into the interior, and they won't be easy to take!"

Li Gao, the instructor representative, shook his head and said, "I don't think we should retreat. We should fight all the way to Shengjing, the capital of the puppet Qing dynasty."

Wu Liehu perked up and asked, "What insightful opinion does Li Wenjiao have?"

Li Gao said, "First of all, according to those Tartar prisoners, neither Gaiping County, nor Niuzhuang City and Haicheng behind it, actually had many Qing troops stationed there. Moreover, even the Tartar city of Shengjing had just transferred tens of thousands of Eight Banner troops before the New Year, and the Tartar military government in Shengjing only had that many Eight Banner troops. That means that once Niuzhuang City and Haicheng are taken, Liaoyang and even Shengjing will be extremely vulnerable in terms of military defense and population, and will be the Tartar's most important strongholds outside the Great Wall."

Although Shengjing is not close to the interior of the pass, its population is larger than that of Jinzhou and Ningyuan, which are warmer and more fertile.

Because this was Shengjing, the capital of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, before Shunzhi became a monk, he designated Shengjing as Fengtian Prefecture, meaning "receiving the mandate of Heaven," and established official positions such as Prefect, Administrator, and Vice Prefect.

During the more than 200 years of the Manchu Qing dynasty, there were only two prefectures with the character "Tian" in their names: Beijing Shuntian Prefecture and Shengjing Fengtian Prefecture. Nanjing had already been excluded from the scope of the prefectures by the Manchu Qing.

Shengjing was so important to the Manchu Qing dynasty that it was essentially the core of the three major military prefectures outside the Great Wall.

In terms of the garrison strength of the Eight Banners troops, the two generals from outside the Great Wall, Heilongjiang and Jilin, combined, were just equal to the general of Shengjing.

The Heilongjiang General was the most miserable, with the fewest Eight Banners soldiers under his command and living in the most harsh and cold place. His only advantage was that he had 5000 Solon soldiers under his jurisdiction.

However, given the current war situation within the Great Wall, the more than 10,000 Eight Banner troops stationed under the command of the Shengjing General have already been drawn away by Emperor Jiaqing. As for the more than 5000 Solon soldiers under the Heilongjiang General, 2000 of them were transferred to the Great Wall last year, and another 2000 were transferred away at the beginning of this year.

The remaining General Jilin didn't move much, but it didn't really matter whether he made a move or not. General Jilin's garrison of the Eight Banners was only 8000 strong, but his jurisdiction was larger than that of General Shengjing, almost equal to that of General Heilongjiang, and the garrisoned Eight Banners were further distributed among his five deputy commanders.

"So, my opinion is..."

Li Gao gritted his teeth and said, "Now that we've already invaded Liaodong, let's go all out. Liaodong is the homeland of the puppet Qing, and they've now transferred their troops from outside the pass to inside, leaving Liaodong's defenses so weak. Such a good opportunity won't last forever. We can easily march on Liaoyang and Shengjing in one fell swoop. Even if we can't take them, we should still plunder these major towns, and bring the population of those two places back to the Liaodong Peninsula to bolster its population."

Li Gao added, "My idea is simple: since we've already invaded, let's go all the way. The Liaodong Peninsula is now part of our Han territory. It's mountainous with plains, and the main towns are all along the coast, making it suitable for defense. The only problem is the small population. If we attack Liaoyang and Shengjing, we can solve those issues."

"Moreover, Liaoyang and Shengjing have been looted and turned into wasteland. They will inevitably have to ask for help from within the Great Wall. Even if they don't ask for help, I don't believe the Tartars won't come to their aid. After all, this is still the Tartars' ancestral land. No matter how barbaric the Tartars are, if their own ancestral land is attacked, how could they not come back to save it?"

"Even if they don't come back, the Tartars have already mobilized troops from outside the Great Wall. The more we destroy outside the Great Wall, the weaker the Tartars will become!"

Good heavens, this series of thoughts shocked even Wu Liehu.

Amazing!
These educated people are really ruthless and vicious!

They actually came up with these methods to take advantage of Liaodong's vulnerability and plunder along the way.

They not only robbed grain, but also people; in short, they looted everything, turning the pseudo-Qing regime's base outside the Great Wall into nothingness.

If the puppet Qing dynasty comes to the rescue, it will be exactly what the Han army wants; if the puppet Qing dynasty doesn't come to the rescue, then they can only wait for their ancestors' graves to be exiled!
……

Wu Liehu adopted Li Gao's plan without hesitation, leaving only 50 troops each to be stationed in Xiong Yue, Jinzhou, Fuzhou, and Lushun. He didn't even have time to distribute land to the serfs in the countryside; instead, he sent a telegram to Jeju Island, urging Magistrate Lin to send some administrative personnel as soon as possible.

Wu Liehu, meanwhile, led the remaining 1800 Han soldiers on a sea voyage towards Gaiping County.

After drifting at sea for only half a day, the Han army arrived at Gaiping County.

The Qing troops in Gaiping County did notice the unusual activity of the Han troops, but there were far too few of them, less than half the number in Fuzhou.

Faced with a fierce attack from nearly two thousand Han soldiers and a barrage of cannon fire, Gaiping County collapsed almost immediately.

In less than an hour, Gaiping County fell and surrendered.

After the Han army captured Gaiping County, they unloaded all the grain transported by the fleet. The merchant ships were preparing to head south back to Jiangsu, while the Han army conscripted laborers on the spot.

The number of Qing troops stationed in Gaiping County was small, but the number of serfs was about the same as that in Xiong Yue City, and they were quite concentrated due to the terrain.

The Han army did nothing superfluous but simply announced the removal of these serfs from their slave status. They also provided them with food, telling them that anyone willing to work as laborers could be fed. Almost all the able-bodied people in Gaiping came to serve as laborers with the army.

However, even so, the number of civilian laborers in the Han army was still not large.

Gaiping County is too poor, and the Liaodong Peninsula is too poor, with a total population of only tens of thousands.

Xiong Yuecheng still occupies a considerable amount, while the rest are scattered throughout the Liaodong Peninsula, including those deep in the mountains and forests.

In the vast Gaiping County, the combined strength of all able-bodied men was roughly equal to that of the Han army.

It's a bit little, but it's still barely enough.

After capturing Gaiping County, Wu Liehu did not take any prisoners. He was very busy and his troops were stretched thin. He relied entirely on the few ships of food he received in exchange for it from Korea, which was not enough to support the many idle Tartars.

Anyone with Eight Banners military registration was executed, all adult males were killed, while women were spared. The 400 Qing soldiers who surrendered in Gaiping County had their heads chopped off, and then the heads were gathered together and the local people of Gaiping carried out the killings.

At first, these commoners were somewhat afraid and dared not lay a hand on their masters. But when the first blow landed, and the once high and mighty masters cried out and begged for mercy, their fear vanished instantly, replaced by a ferocity that erupted from their long-term enslavement and oppression.

400 heads were chopped off, and nearly 2000 civilians came to chop them off, leaving the scene a bloody mess.

Not only were their heads cut off, but their bodies were also chopped into mincemeat.

Fortunately, the Han army had the foresight to place the execution site in the open field, based on their previous experience.

It doesn't matter if the body turns into mincemeat; just bury it on the spot.

His head will remain hanging on the city wall for a few more days.

Wu Liehu followed the same method, leaving 50 Han soldiers to garrison in Gaiping County. At the same time, he looted all the grain stored in the Gaiping County warehouse before loading it onto carts and taking the laborers north.

Gaiping County is 120 li away from Haicheng and Niuzhuang, which is 20 li farther than the distance from Jinzhou to Lushun. Moreover, the Han army now has to take into account logistics and transportation, so its marching speed cannot be as fast as when the cavalry attacked Lushun before.

But it doesn't matter, the Han army is not fast enough, and the Qing army is short-handed.

The Qing troops stationed in Haicheng and Niuzhuang counties were a single Eight Banners garrison battalion, with the garrison commander being a higher rank than the defense commander, representing an important Eight Banners garrison position. However, despite Niuzhuang's importance, the Eight Banners garrison there had fewer troops than the defense commander of Gaiping.

Unfortunately, the garrison commander was more focused on military defense, while the city garrison commander was more focused on administration.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with the Han army. Wu Liehu was leading several thousand troops, marching in a mighty force towards Haicheng.

Along the way, Han scouts constantly scouted the route, bringing back serfs from villages they encountered. The Han army promised to free them from slavery, and in return, the serfs would serve as free laborers for the Han army, with plenty of food to eat and no need to go hungry.

After a four-day march, the vanguard of the Han army finally arrived at Haicheng.

The Eight Banners Qing army in Haicheng is already organizing serfs to help defend the city.

The Qing army of the Eight Banners could not possibly capture all the counties and cities they had previously captured, such as Gaiping County and Xiongyue City; a few would always escape.

These Manchu deserters didn't need to wait for logistical support, so several deserters traveled almost day and night, walking more than 100 li (about 50 kilometers) to return to Haicheng to report the news.

Yingfu, the magistrate of Haicheng County, lay on the city wall, looking at the thousands of troops below. He was already panicking: "Where...where did all these Nikan troops come from?"

Cheng Ce, the garrison commander of Niuzhuang City who rushed over to help, was also pale-faced. He could only force himself to remain calm and said, "It's not about where these Nikan troops came from, but about finding a way to defend the city immediately. Although I brought all the bannermen of Niuzhuang with me this time, it's only a little over 300 men. Have you recruited all the Nikan slaves I asked you to?"

Yingfu said with a long face, "How can it be so fast! How many people does Haicheng have? From the time we get the news to the time we recall those Nikan slaves and herd them into the city, there is simply not enough time. Moreover, Haizhou (Haicheng) doesn't have that much food. We can't feed these Nikan slaves, and the number of those we can use to fight is less than half of the Nikan army outside."

Although defending the city doesn't require too many people, that refers to regular troops. They only had about 300 men who could barely be considered regular troops, and the rest were all serfs. How could they possibly fight against the Han army outside?
Moreover, they still don't know where the Han army outside came from.

Knowing the news in advance was one thing, but the Liaodong Peninsula was just south of Haicheng. Where did so many Han Chinese troops come from on the Liaodong Peninsula? And why were they so fully armed, with red cannons?

No, those weren't even the Red-Clad Cannons. When the Han army pushed the cannons out, their incredibly long barrels stunned them.

What the hell is that cannon?
With such a long barrel, aren't you afraid the cannon will explode?

Before they had any time to speculate, the Han army outside Haicheng had already pushed the cannons onto the pre-dug gun emplacements.

The city wall of Haicheng is 8 meters high, much higher than that of ordinary county towns inside the pass, but it is still old and dilapidated.

The Han army had no intention of wasting time; since they were already prepared, they opened fire immediately.

"Boom boom boom!"

A salvo of artillery fire.

The city walls of Haicheng roared loudly on the spot.

Two cannonballs were fired; one hit the city wall, and the other hit the city tower.

The city gate tower was partially collapsed, and the city wall also had huge pits and cracks.

What's the point of fighting?

Yingfu lost his official position and ran away on the spot. Chengce still wanted to try, but as the county magistrate Yingfu ran away, the serfs on the city wall also ran away.

To make their escape faster, those two even opened several city gates.

Seeing the city gates of Haicheng wide open, Wu Liehu immediately drew his sword and ordered, "All troops, attack the city! Kill the Qing dogs!"

"Kill the clear dog!"

"Waaaaahh ...

Amidst shouts of battle and the sound of bugles signaling the charge, almost the entire force of 1800 Han cavalrymen was mobilized to intercept and block the fleeing Qing troops.

These Qing soldiers were all wearing Manchu-style cotton armor, which, although worn out, made them easily identifiable among the many runaway serfs.

Seeing that his way out was blocked, Cheng Ce became determined and was ready to lead his Eight Banners troops to fight the Han army to the death.

"Raise your guns!"

"shooting!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The Han army's musket cavalry took out their rifled flintlock muskets and unleashed a volley of fire at Cheng Ce and his Eight Banner soldiers.

The cotton armor could not stop the Han army's rifled and flintlock muskets, let alone the brand-new hollow bullets (the first generation of Minié bullets).

Cheng Ce, the city's garrison commander, was riddled with bullets on the spot. When the remaining Eight Banner soldiers saw that Cheng Ce was dead, they immediately panicked and fled.

Fuzhina caught up, his eyes immediately lighting up: "Men, what are you all standing there for? Come with me and kill the Tartars!"

"Kill the Tartars!"

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Amidst the thunderous sound of hooves, the Manchu cavalry of Fuzhina ran much faster than the routed Eight Banner soldiers of Haicheng.

Five hundred Manchu cavalrymen chased after more than three hundred fleeing Eight Banner soldiers. With a single slash, they sent the fleeing soldiers flying into the air like yo-yos. They were faster and more ruthless than the Han cavalrymen.

(End of this chapter)