There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 465 Henan Battlefield
The Battle of Jining shook the world.

Although the battle was fought rather "easily," its impact was considerable.

Jiangbei Governor Yinghe died in battle in Jining, and the 5-strong Eight Banner army that followed him south was completely wiped out.

The most elite Solon troops of the Qing Dynasty and the Shandong Green Standard Army either died in battle or defected and surrendered, and Shandong completely lost all resistance.

Officials in various prefectures and cities of Shandong, upon hearing the news of the battle, either hastily changed their flags and rushed to make the Great Han flag overnight, or packed up their gold, silver and valuables and secretly abandoned the city to flee.

In short, no one even thought of resisting, and there were hardly any who committed suicide to die for their country.

This is normal. When the Manchus and the Han were in a standoff between the north and south, some people might not have been sure of the situation, or they might have just been trying to comfort themselves.

But now Shandong is about to be lost, Yinghe has died in battle, and 5 Eight Banner troops have been wiped out. The Qing Dynasty has basically no hope left.

If someone still thinks of dying for their country and being buried with the Manchus, then they are not a loyal subject. Instead, they will be branded as a traitor by the new dynasty and will be condemned after death.

After all, the lessons of the Qing Dynasty were still there, and Hong Chengchou had made great contributions to the Qing. However, after his death, he was included in the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials" by Emperor Qianlong, who also commented: "Although they all served the dynasty, they ultimately failed in their integrity."

If even someone as meritorious as Hong Chengchou was treated this way, one can only imagine how ordinary Han officials in Shandong fared.

Moreover, the Han dynasty also followed the example of the Manchus and created a "Record of Traitors." Whenever a territory was recovered, officials who died for the Manchus were all included in the record and continuously updated in the official gazette.

There was no other purpose than to make these inherently servile lackeys infamous for eternity, and to warn other Han officials under the Manchu rule that they could commit suicide for their country, but they should not expect to leave behind any good reputation afterward.

A traitor is a traitor, and a lackey is a lackey. Even if you are an incorruptible official, if you follow the Manchus to your death, you are a self-degrading traitor!

After the Battle of Jining, the outcome of the battle in Shandong was essentially decided.

Although most of Shandong was still under the control of the Manchus, it existed in name only.

Even Yue Qi, the governor of Shandong, could only cower in Jinan and hold out, hesitating whether to flee or surrender.

Running away doesn't guarantee escape, and even if you do escape, without Shandong, the Qing Dynasty will likely struggle to hold onto Henan as well.

If Shandong and Henan are completely lost, then the Qing Dynasty will not be far from its demise.

With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, how much better could his Manchu harassment be?
Surrender, however, seems to have an even worse outcome. The new Han dynasty in the south harbors deep resentment towards the Manchus and the Eight Banners.

Although the Han army was marching north, they also sent spies to spread the word that as long as they were willing to surrender and give up their cities, even the Manchu Eight Banners would be spared.

But the tens of thousands of Eight Banners who surrendered in Jining earlier had already had their heads chopped off, and more than a thousand of them were even transported to Jinan Prefecture.

……

The Henan battlefield.

Kaifeng has been besieged for more than half a month. Liu Yong is unaware that Ying He's army in Shandong has been defeated, and even Ying He himself has been beheaded.

Liu Yong originally intended to take a steady and methodical approach, using tactics such as clearing the fields and building strongholds to fight a protracted war, slowly wearing down the Han army and avoiding their sharpest attacks.

The idea was good, but reality didn't allow it at all.

This strategic model used to fight the White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan became instantly useless when it was applied to the vast plains of Henan.

When the Han army encountered the local stronghold of Wubao, they didn't even bother with a direct assault; they just bombarded it with mortars.

After several rounds, all the landlords' strongholds were captured. Later, the landlords were terrified at the mere mention of the "Han" and dared not set up strongholds or organize local militias anymore.

Furthermore, the Han army soon received reinforcements from Jiangbei, expanding its strength by nearly three times, making those local landlord militias no match for them.

In less than half a month, the Han army conquered Zhengzhou, Chenliu, Zhongmu and other counties around Kaifeng.

Tens of thousands of Han troops were at the gates of Kaifeng, which terrified Liu Yong.

"General, Kaifeng has been besieged by the Han army for half a month. When will your reinforcements arrive?" The Kaifeng Prefect, Alejing'a, looked at the densely packed Han army camps outside the city and asked with a troubled expression. Liu Yong comforted him, "Hold on a little longer. Although we are suffering in Henan, the Han army is only besieging without attacking, so they are likely mostly new recruits. The situation in Shandong is the key. The Han army will surely come out in full force to fight you, General. If we win this battle, our Great Qing will have a much-needed respite, and you will be able to free up troops to rescue Kaifeng."

These were Liu Yong's words of encouragement to Alijing'a and the garrison in Kaifeng.

That makes some sense. After the Han army arrived in Kaifeng, they besieged the city for a long time without attacking, and only dug trenches and tunnels, seemingly planning to attack the city from underground.

Liu Yong naturally knew how to deal with siege warfare using tunnels, and he had arranged for water tanks to be used for listening to sounds long ago.

However, Liu Yong also received a message from Ying He, saying that the Han army possessed a special firearm that could cause city walls to collapse, and that Liu Yong must be careful.

Although Liu Yong was skeptical of the special firearms Ying He had mentioned, he still took some precautions. The number of soldiers recruited by Ting Shui Gang doubled, and lookouts were assigned to closely monitor the movements around the city walls and any suspicious activity from the direction of the Han army camp.

Just as they were talking, fierce artillery fire erupted outside the city.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army's positions were once again bombarding Kaifeng.

After more than half a month of siege, the Han army bombarded the city almost every day.

The Qing army in Kaifeng initially returned fire, but after a few exchanges, they discovered that their cannons were not only of poor quality and had a short range, but also that they were running out of ammunition.

Unfortunately, Kaifeng was neither a strategic location nor did it have any large-scale artillery workshops.

The usable shells and gunpowder were all stored in the arsenal. Once they were used up, they were truly gone, and there was nowhere to resupply them.

The Qing army in Kaifeng only exchanged fire with the Han army for eight days before running out of ammunition and medicine.

After eight days of intense fighting, they hadn't even achieved any significant results.

Although the Han army did not use the massive siege cannons, their ordinary cannons were simply not in the same league as the Qing army's defensive cannons in terms of range and power.

Since Liu Yong arrived in Kaifeng, Wang Linshu, the Henan Provincial Education Commissioner who had been mostly silent, couldn't help but speak up: "General, Kaifeng has been besieged for half a month, and the Han army has been bombarding the city for half a month. We should think of a solution. Otherwise, even if the walls of Kaifeng can hold out, the morale of the troops in the city may not be able to withstand it."

Upon hearing Wang Linshu's words, Liu Yong did not immediately rebuke him, but instead asked, "What is your opinion, Academician Wang?"

Wang Linshu replied, "Perhaps we can launch a night raid on the enemy. The Han army is well-disciplined and highly skilled; even new recruits are no match for us. Therefore, the only opportunity lies at night. We can select a thousand elite soldiers to launch a night raid on the Han army's camp. If successful, that would be ideal, greatly relieving the pressure on the city's defense and boosting morale. Even if we fail, the loss would only be a thousand soldiers, which wouldn't significantly hinder the defense of the city."

Alejinga raised concerns: "Wouldn't a thousand be too many? We only have three thousand regular soldiers in total, and the rest are all local militia. How about five hundred elite soldiers? Or we can use local militia to increase the number to three thousand and send them out of the city for a night raid. Even if they die, it won't be too much of a loss."

Wang Linshu shook his head: "That won't do, sir. What are the local militia? They're just cannon fodder to be sent to their deaths. How can they be entrusted with the important task of a night raid? Besides, there are too many Han troops outside the city. Judging from their camps, there are at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops (including laborers). Even 1,000 elite soldiers are not enough. Even if we succeed, it won't be enough to seriously damage the Han army."

Alejinga remained silent and looked at Liu Yong.

Wang Linshu also looked at Liu Yong, seemingly waiting for him, the governor, to make a decision.

Liu Yong was somewhat troubled by this. Usually, when defending a city, it is necessary to send a portion of the troops outside the city to provide support, or to occasionally go out of the city to fight a couple of battles with the enemy, in order to boost morale.

Otherwise, if they keep hiding in the city and defending it, their morale will only get worse and worse, and the cities that can hold out will eventually collapse without a fight.

In conclusion, prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat!
After hesitating for a long time, Liu Yong finally made up his mind: "Then let's use Wang Xuetai's method. Let's make preparations tonight and select a thousand elite soldiers to launch a night attack outside the city!" After saying that, he added: "If the first attack fails, retreat immediately and do not linger in battle!"

This group of purely civil officials defending the city fought so hastily and inefficiently.

After being besieged for more than half a month, they finally thought of launching a night raid outside the city. The night raid was handled with great hesitation and indecision, as if they had never thought it could succeed.

"Your subordinate obeys."

Wang Linshu and Alejing'a both seemed relieved and responded in unison.

(End of this chapter)