Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 109 Chase!
Dorgon's hand paused for a moment.

He looked at the messenger in disbelief, “Sheng…Jing…Shengjing…has fallen?!?”

"Reporting to my master, Shengjing has fallen. Last night at midnight, my master received a letter from the Grand Prince via a swift eagle. The letter stated that Desheng Gate of Shengjing had fallen and the outer city was in dire straits, which is why my master withdrew his troops."

The messenger's words resounded in Dorgon's ears like a thunderclap.

He was so disoriented that he could barely stand, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

Fortunately, he had quite a few personal guards around him, who quickly stepped forward to help Dorgon up.

The urgent greetings only made Dorgon's mind more confused.

Looking at the people around him, he murmured, "Go...go...go, let me be alone for a while."

The guards, still uneasy, tried to offer some words of comfort, but Dorgon reacted as if his hair had been bristled, drawing his sword and shouting, "All of you, get out of my sight!!"

Upon seeing this, Fan Wencheng quickly stepped forward to dismiss the crowd and helped Dorgon into the city tower.

He brewed a bowl of tea and comforted the prince, saying, "Why is Your Highness so angry? It's just a temporary setback. You can always come back stronger."

Dorgon shook his head. "If it's just a temporary setback, I'll come back again."

“But I think Mr. Fan should understand better than I do that everything is over.”

“The Southern Dynasty is no longer the same Southern Dynasty. Their emperor has awakened, and I have had many opportunities to change my strategy.”

"I should have thought of this earlier, when the capital of the Southern Dynasty had more than a million inhabitants."

"It should have been thought of when those two edicts were issued."

"This should have been thought of when the Southerners became even more courageous after the massacre in Kaifeng."

"But I have never accepted it, or rather, I did not want to accept it. After all, this is a golden opportunity for my Great Qing Dynasty. If we miss it, we will probably have to wait another ten or twenty years. By then, Daišan Ajige and I will be dead, and the old Khan's descendants will have all died out."

"With Hauge's abilities, he'll only end up as thirteen armored soldiers again."

"But now it's all over. Dodo and I went south but didn't achieve anything. Our ancestral land was occupied by the Southern Army, and the two Red Banners of Daishan were lost in Zhangjiakou. The Mongol tribes that we had managed for twenty years were handed over to the Southern Dynasty."

"After returning to the capital, no one will be able to suppress Huang Taiji's faction. With Hauge's abilities, he will only ruin the foundation of his ancestors!"

After finishing his remarks, Fan Wencheng did not offer any further comments.

Instead, they let Dorgon ramble on and on.

After he had finished speaking, Fan Wencheng walked up to Dorgon and asked with a serious expression.

"Does Your Highness truly wish to lead the Qing Dynasty to rule the Central Plains, rather than being concerned with so-called power and wealth?"

Dorgon looked at Fan Wencheng with a puzzled expression. "Mr. Fan, what makes you say that?"

"I have followed my father, the Khan, in conquering the world, and have healed a hundred wounds. If I were to seek pleasure, why not rest in Shengjing?!"

"Haha." Fan Wencheng suddenly laughed. "It is precisely because Your Highness has such aspirations that I am willing to serve you faithfully."

"As long as Your Highness's ambition remains unchanged, what are these minor setbacks to fear?"

Dorgon was taken aback at first, then his eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light.

She jumped up from her chair and grabbed Fan Wencheng's hands. "Mr. Fan, you have a plan for me!?"

Fan Wencheng nodded with a light laugh.

"It's nothing more than the will of the people and the greater good; this matter is easy."

"Please teach me, Mr. Fan!" Dorgon grasped Fan Wencheng's hands with tears in his eyes.

The latter said with a smile, "To resolve this matter, this servant needs two heads."

"Who?"

Fan Wencheng leaned close to Dorgon's ear and whispered something.

At first, Dorgon looked hesitant, but the more he listened, the more excited he became.

By the end, Dorgon was amazed by his extraordinary abilities.

Holding Fan Wencheng's hand tightly, he said, "Having you is better than having a hundred thousand soldiers!"

"Following Mr. Fan's plan, I will immediately issue the order to return to Shengjing!"

Fan Wencheng stroked his goatee and whispered a reminder.

"Your Highness, remember this: endure for two years, and you will be as powerful as a dragon soaring across the four seas and an eagle flying in the nine heavens!"

"it is good!"

……

On the other side, Zhu Youjian also received news that Shengjing had been captured.

However, it was still not sent by Zheng Chenggong.

Instead, it was a messenger sent by Ni Yuanlu.

Unlike Dorgon's reaction, Zhu Youjian's first reaction was doubt.

According to his plan, it was unlikely that Zheng Chenggong would be able to capture Shengjing.

Dodo's sudden withdrawal of troops must mean something went wrong in Shengjing.

No matter what problems arise, Zhu Youjian will definitely lend a hand!

Zhu Youjian's fingertips moved across the map, and the three torches illuminated the contour lines around Chengde Prefecture, making them flicker.

"Report!" The messenger rushed into the tent, knocking over a bronze lamp in the process. "Three thousand cavalrymen with white banners have circled around to our rear!"

All the generals in the tent turned to look at the emperor.

The whip gripped by Li Guo cracked loudly. "Your Majesty, I request to lead the main camp to intercept Dodo."

"No." Huang Degong's shoulder guard still had half an arrow shaft embedded in it. "The Jurchens still have considerable strength in the two White Banners of Dorgon, and they still possess twenty-seven Red Barbarian cannons. A direct assault would be..."

Before the words were finished, a muffled rumble of thunder suddenly came from the northwest.

Zhu Youjian grabbed his telescope and rushed out of the tent. Amidst the rising smoke from the walls of Chengde, six solid shot bullets were hurling at the main camp's formation.

The cannons were fired at the crack of dawn. Could it be that Dorgon, with Dodo's support, is planning a counterattack?
Thinking about it carefully, the Qing army had all gathered together, numbering nearly 100,000, while he only had 100,000 under his command. Based on the strength of both sides, a counterattack was truly impossible.

"Order Qi Jiguang's army to move two hundred paces east!"

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then said, "Li Guo should lead his cavalry to ram into the surrounding routed soldiers, and try to prevent them from joining together."

"Huang Degong, lead your men in a feigned attack. No matter what the Jurchens are trying to do, just keep them pinned down! Oh, right, aren't there many Jurchen prisoners? Let's give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Four-quarters of an hour later.

Dorgon placed his telescope over the gap in the city wall, watching the fleeing soldiers being driven by the Ming army towards the artillery positions.

Three chain shots felled seventeen warhorses, but drew even more armored soldiers into the vortex of chains.

"That's ruthless." He licked the blood scab from the corner of his mouth. "Order Dodo to pour all the gunpowder from the Wuzhen Chaoha Camp outside the West Gate."

"Your Highness!" Fan Wencheng suddenly pressed a spot on the map. "The most urgent task is to open up the Zhangjiakou passage and allow the Khorchin tribe to pass through."

"It's too late." Dorgon's breastplate reflected the blood-red setting sun. "Order the Baiyala Guards to prepare food at dawn and turn all the grain stored in the city into fried noodles."

"Tell Dorgon to prepare for the withdrawal at midnight. Let's return to the border first!"

Zhu Youjian's dragon-patterned armor gleamed faintly in the candlelight. Huang Degong marked the Shanhaiguan Pass with the words, "The Duke of England's troops are all cavalry. At this moment, most of the Jurchens are right in front of us. If we can send the Duke of England to support General Zheng, General Wang can be stationed in Guangning Guard in his place."

"Even without any results, it can make the Jurchens even more panicked."

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval, and then pinched the sandalwood command flag on the sand table into two pieces.

The generals in the tent held their breath, for they were about to transfer Wang Erhu's troops to take over Guangning and completely liberate Zhang Shize's 3,000-strong battalion.

If they could expand their military achievements outside the Great Wall, it would be even greater than killing 10,000 Jurchens inside the Great Wall.

"Draft an imperial edict." Zhu Youjian tore off half of his robe. "Order Zhang Shize's troops to take Yizhou within three days. Do not attack any forts or villages, and just keep moving towards the Hun River!"

"Your Majesty! That Dorgon"

"If you ask me, we should let the Jurchens go back, and then we can go straight to Liaodong to fight!"

"Easy for you to say! With such a large army, what about supplies? Are you even familiar with the terrain? What if you annihilate the entire army?" "Report!" The sentry's voice boomed into the tent, drowning out the argument. "The Jurchens are dismantling the Chengde water gate!"

Huang Degong's eyelids twitched violently. "The Jurchens definitely want to withdraw their troops!"

Zhu Youjian drew his imperial sword with a clang, the tip of which touched the Chengde position on the sand table.

"Send orders to the Mongol tribes." The Emperor's sword traced an arc on the map. "Send five thousand light cavalry across the Black River Valley to seize the Jurchen's flank!"

"First release the Jurchens out of Chengde, then slowly follow and tear them apart."

"The rest of the units shall act according to military orders and convey the matters within the pass and the imperial edict to Zhang Shize and Wang Erhu over a thousand miles!"

"No matter what the Jurchens want to do, we must not let them have fun!"

"From this day forward, the roles of offense and defense have reversed!"

……

After a day of rest, the two yellow flags barely recovered to 35,000 people.

Dorgon's wristbands were wrapped with three iron bands, and his whip lashed the packhorse's rump, causing blood to splatter. "Let the Bordered Yellow Banner escort thirty mother-and-child cannons out of the city first!"

Bumbutai, pulling on the reins, weaved through the fleeing soldiers. This seventeen-year-old Bayara guard suddenly realized that the once disciplined and disciplined Eight Banners troops were now completely unresponsive to the Ming army's shouts for an attack.

"Master!" He nearly knocked Fan Wencheng over as he rushed up the city wall. "The southern barbarians are arrayed outside the east gate!"

"Ximen also has several thousand cavalry!"

Dorgon's telescope turned southeast, and twenty cannons were being used to construct artillery fortifications three miles away.

He suddenly laughed, his blood-stained fangs looking eerily white in the twilight. "Well done, Zhu Youjian! Even though I'm leaving, he's still reluctant to part with me. Order Dodo to blow up the stone bridge!"

"Write another letter to Zhu Youjian, saying that I have lost this battle and I am now preparing to go home. If he is not satisfied, he can come to the border and fight again!"

At 2:45 AM, the last two Hongyi cannons of Chengde Prefecture were pushed into the moat.

Under the torches atop the city walls, there was no longer a trace of the Qing army.

According to reports from Mongol cavalry, the Jurchens had already withdrawn approximately 80,000 troops.

Zhu Youjian roared, "Let Huang Degong's troops cross the Baihe River! Now! Immediately!"

Five sheepskin rafts were torn apart by chain shot as soon as they left the shore, while the breech-loading cannons of the white-flagged flag spewed fire on the west bank of the river.

Huang Degong's chainmail was soaked with water. "Gunners, get on the raft!"

Seventeen rafts crossed the river amidst the artillery fire, the smoke from the three-barreled guns mingling with the smoke from the cannons, creating a gray curtain.

By the time the first Ming soldiers reached the west bank, Dodo's brocade dragon banner had already disappeared into the northern hills.

"Report!" Tang Ma rushed over, "The Jurchen army has headed towards Dushikou!"

"Order Li Guo's troops to advance lightly and swiftly, along with all carriages and supplies along the way."

Zhu Youjian suddenly stopped speaking and turned to Huang Degong, "Hushan, how many more days can the grain reserves in Guangning last?"

Huang Degong thought for a moment, "It seems to be enough for twenty days' worth of food."

"Then let Li Guo's troops pursue them. The supplies captured along the way should be accepted by the Ministry of Revenue in the capital and distributed to the various cities. Zhang Shize's troops should also be allowed to feed the enemy! Send a message to all armies that any cattle or sheep captured will be counted as military merit!"

At 5:00 AM, the last Eight Banners garrison in Chengde Prefecture blew up the armory.

When Zhu Youjian rushed into the South Gate, where the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated, he saw the Banner Chieftain of the Bordered Yellow Banner sharpening his knife by the well.

"Leave them alive!" The order was delayed by half a breath; three daggers had already pierced the prisoner's chest and abdomen.

"Report!" The scout, riddled with arrows, tumbled off his horse. "Zhangjiakou! Zhangjiakou beacon fire!"

Huang Degong's gun was still smoking: "Your Majesty, allow me to take it."

"Go to Guangning." Zhu Youjian suddenly calmed down. "Issue an order to Wang Erhu: all troops in Jizhou must switch to riding two horses at full speed."

"I can handle things here with Dorgon. We can't defeat them anyway, so we might as well do more things outside the Great Wall."

Huang Degong listened without hesitation and immediately accepted the order.

……

Chen Ze stood at the bow of the Cangshan warship, gazing at the gradually clearing North Korean coastline.

After several days of sailing, he finally arrived in North Korea.

Fifty warships carved fan-shaped ripples across the Yellow Sea, and the breech-loading cannons on fifteen of the hull-mounted ships had their covers removed, their bronze barrels gleaming coldly in the blazing sun.

Every ship carries the Japanese flag.

"Reporting to the general, the scout ship reports that there is smoke rising from the direction of Hanyang."

The personal guard Chen Qi held up the nautical chart and approached, saying, "According to the map given by General Zheng, Jianghua Bay should be ahead."

Chen Ze stroked the dragon pattern on the hilt of his sword with his thumb. "Order the sand flotilla to advance thirty li and wipe out all the sampans of the Korean navy."

He kicked the iron ammunition box on the deck, and a five-pound solid shot rolled out and hit the mooring bollard with a dull thud.

The North Korean navy is worse off than expected.

When the Ming fleet suddenly entered the mouth of the Han River, the twelve barges collided in the chaos, and the flag of the naval commander on the mast fluttered into the river.

Looking at the Korean soldiers in cotton armor and holding bamboo bows in the binoculars, Chen Ze suddenly understood why Zheng Chenggong had asked him to bring three thousand soldiers.

With such a military formation, even five hundred men could probably sweep through the capital.

"Have the men put on their mountain-patterned armor." Chen Ze removed his helmet, revealing the character for "kill" tattooed on his left forehead. "Place the musket squad at the bow of the ship."

The clanging of armored vehicles startled egrets from taking flight from the riverbank.

When the fleet approached and landed near the western outskirts of Hanyang, none of the Korean defenders dared to fire a single arrow.

As Chen Ze stood on the damp riverbank, looking at the training commander's flag fluttering on the distant city wall, he suddenly felt that the Japanese sword at his waist was somewhat superfluous.

"Report! Kim Jae-jeon, the Chief State Councilor of North Korea, is kneeling outside the city gates to welcome us!"

Chen Ze snorted a cold laugh through his nostrils.

He deliberately positioned his entire army three miles outside the city. The two thousand armored soldiers radiated heat under the August sun, and the five hundred musketeers mounted their three-barreled guns on iron-clad wooden shields, making them look like a forest of iron spikes from a distance.

“Tell them that I am here by order of the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty to go to Changde Palace to deliver the decree, and I am too lazy to see them.”

Chen Ze removed the iron arm restraints, revealing an old, centipede-shaped scar on his forearm. "Let the King of Korea wait in his crown robes."

Before long, the scouts hurriedly returned, indicating that the King of Joseon had entered the palace.

As Chen Ze led three hundred guards through Chongli Gate, the sound of his iron boots on the stone pavement startled roadside vendors, causing them to knock over their pottery jars.

Several North Korean officials wearing black hats tried to stop them, but staggered back when they saw the Ming army's armor.

The Joseon royal palace was extremely cramped, perhaps even smaller than some of the mansions of dukes and marquises in the Central Plains.

The eunuchs and palace maids around them were also lying prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise their heads at all.

Chen Ze noticed that the spears carried by the palace guards were still the standard style from the Wanli era, with the spearheads so rusted they could be used as firewood.

Before even entering the hall, Chen Ze shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Chen Ze, the military commander of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Garrison of the Ming Dynasty, has been ordered to question the King of Joseon!"

The thunderous roar startled the birds on the eaves of Gyeongbokgung Palace into flight.

Chen Ze stood with his hand on his sword beneath the steps of the Qin Zheng Hall, watching the crimson robe trembling on the jade steps.

Behind him, three hundred armored soldiers simultaneously swung their halberds, the steel tips piercing white marks into the blue bricks.

"Your Majesty King Yi Jong, I respectfully welcome the angel from the superior nation." The voice of the King of Joseon sounded like a quail being strangled.

Chen Ze looked up and saw that the face under the winged crown was even more withered than the portrait given by General Zheng.

"In April of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, our Emperor issued the 'Proclamation to Punish the Barbarians' throughout the land." Chen Ze took out a bright yellow silk scroll from his robes, but did not unfold it. "Why has Korea not sent a single soldier to this day?"

The entire court, adorned in purple and green, immediately prostrated themselves on the ground like reeds in the wind.

(End of this chapter)