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

Chapter 97 Daishan collapses

"whole team!"

When Zhu Youjian rode his horse to the foot of the mountain, the remnants of the Xuanjia cavalry had already formed three horizontal lines in front of the mountain road.

More than a thousand black armors reflected the rising sun, each breastplate riddled with arrow holes and knife marks.

Under the combined attack of the rebel army and the Ming army, Du Lei's 5,000 rear guard troops were wiped out.

Adding to last night's results, a total of 13,000 Jurchens were beheaded, and countless others fled in disarray.

This was a rare and great victory during the Chongzhen era!
Qi Yuan was cleaning the gun barrel with a cleaning rod when he saw the emperor's entourage arrive. He immediately saluted and said, "This humble general requests to be the vanguard!"

"Your troops should rest for half an hour." Zhu Youjian shook his head. They were exhausted after fighting the Ming army all night. Even if they were to pursue, they should do so slowly.

Then, pointing the whip towards the northwest dust, he ordered Huang Degong to gather the defeated soldiers and wait temporarily on the west side of Luoma Slope. Li Guozhen was to lead the Shenji Battalion three miles forward to count the remaining gunpowder and await my orders.

As he spoke, he suddenly pulled on the reins, and a troop of light cavalry emerged from under a large indigo flag in the distance.

The general in the lead wore a six-lobed Ming helmet, with a half-worn mandarin duck battle jacket over his chainmail, resembling the attire of a former Ming border soldier.

"Your subject, Li Guo, General of the Great Shun Dynasty, pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty!"

The general who came was not as vulgar as other rebel generals, nor did he have any particular demeanor; at first glance, he looked like an ordinary person.

But her inner temperament is exceptionally dazzling, like a proud bamboo, even when bowing, she is neither humble nor arrogant.

As he dismounted, Zhu Youjian noticed that Zhu Youjian had a limp in his left leg.

What's even more surprising is that this Shun general performed the full set of military greetings.

During the three kneelings and nine kowtows, the iron-inlaid knee pads clattered against the gravel ground.

Zhu Youjian raised an eyebrow. Li Guo, known as "Tiger," was Li Zicheng's nephew and one of Li Zicheng's most trusted generals.

They actually gave him a grand salute.

Zhu Youjian gestured for Li Guo to rise, then asked in confusion, "I have heard that Li Zicheng established his regime and proclaimed himself emperor in Xi'an. Why do you perform such a grand ceremony?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to speak." Li Guo patted the loose dirt off his knees as he stood up. "Although our sovereign set up an altar to worship Heaven in Xi'an and changed the era name to become emperor, it was only to protect the common people of the world. Although he is an emperor, he is still the ruler of Han, and I am a subject of Han. Your Majesty is the current ruler of the world. As a subject of Han, I should naturally pay my respects to my sovereign."

"Now that the Jurchens have invaded and the world is in turmoil, my lord says: even if there is a blood feud with fathers, sons, and brothers, we cannot give up our humble dwellings and meager fields, and we cannot let the Chinese people die at the hands of the savages."

Li Guo's words were forceful and resounding.

Zhu Youjian's fingers, resting on the hilt of his sword, trembled slightly.

I felt a surge of excitement.

He desperately needs great generals, especially those capable of leading a force independently.

Of all the rulers who controlled the Ming Dynasty for so long, only Huang Degong and Zheng Chenggong truly deserve the title.

Li Guo, standing before us, spoke with composure and dignified bearing, neither arrogant nor servile, neither greedy nor obsequious, and commanded his army with ease. He was simply a model of a great general!
More importantly, Li Guo's words were clearly influenced by Rang's theory that the Han and the traitors could not coexist and the imperial edict to the world.

If he wasn't mistaken, Li Zicheng sent troops to provide support because of these two imperial edicts.

This means we really can win Li Guo over!

He issued those two edicts to appease the border troops, establish political correctness, and guide the political conflict. He never expected that they would reach Shaanxi and even cause Li Zicheng to change his stance!

It was truly an unexpected stroke of luck.

As Zhu Youjian was pondering this, Li Guo took out a gilded bronze box from his bosom and presented it with both hands.

"This is a letter written by my lord himself. He is willing to swear an oath to Your Majesty: From this day forward, the Great Shun army will not advance even half a step westward. If Your Majesty grants three requests, my lord is willing to serve you as his subject. Furthermore, he is willing to personally lead 100,000 elite troops out of Tongguan Pass to hunt with Your Majesty in Yanshan!"

Just as Zhu Youjian guessed, Li Zicheng was indeed influenced by Zhu Youjian's edict, which is why he refused to send troops to support the Jurchens.

However, the majority of the influence came from Li Zicheng's strategist Song Xianze and Li Guo, the top general of the rebel army at the time.

The former mainly considered legitimacy, since they were going to take control of the Central Plains. Although they had suffered a defeat, their foundation had not been severely damaged.

The latter was completely captivated by Zhu Youjian's personal charm.

Li Guo was a member of the border army, where he suffered greatly, witnessed the suffering of the border people, and became accustomed to the inaction of Ming Dynasty officials.

In a fit of anger, he led a dozen or so border soldiers to join the rebel army.

It was his experiences in his youth that made Li Guo pay special attention to military discipline, making his army arguably the most disciplined unit in the entire rebel army.

Zhu Youjian's declaration that the Han and the traitors could not coexist and his appeal to the world resonated deeply with Li Guo.

He personally requested to lead the army into battle.

The purpose was to meet Zhu Youjian and see if this Ming emperor matched the image in his mind.

Zhu Youjian's expression remained unchanged as he calmly asked, "Which three things?"

This nonchalant demeanor is incredibly intimidating.

This made Li Guo even more respectful.

"First, Ming issued an edict acknowledging Da Shun as a vassal state. Second, he conferred upon our lord the title of King of Da Shun, a hereditary title. Third, Da Shun would govern its own titles and government offices, and the three regions of Qin, Jin, and Shu would be part of the territory of Shun."

If Li Zicheng had only requested a princely title without a fief, Zhu Youjian might have reluctantly agreed for the sake of the rebel army and Li Zicheng's generals.

Unfortunately, Li Zicheng wanted too much. Agreeing to any one of these three conditions would have meant losing sovereignty, ceding territory, and paying indemnities.

Not only would they lose half of their territory, but they would also reignite the flames of war in the newly stabilized Jiangnan region.

If you bestow titles upon Li Zicheng, should you also bestow titles upon Zhang Xianzhong?
These two honored the loyal ministers and righteous men who died on the battlefield, but how should the common people who were slaughtered by the rebel army face this?

Just half a month ago you were shouting that you wanted to stand up for the people, but now you've gone back on your word. Your base of support has collapsed instantly, okay?

A mountain wind, carrying the stench of blood, swept across the army ranks. Zhu Youjian gazed at the fleeing Mongol cavalry in the distance and suddenly sneered, "In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, when Li Zicheng captured Taiyuan, he massacred the entire Jin prince's family, and on the day he captured Datong, he buried alive more than three hundred members of the Dai prince's imperial family. You expect me to hold my nose and admit it, and then tell the world..."

The voice suddenly sharpened, "So, you think you can establish a kingdom and become a king just by slaughtering my people?!"

With the added weight of the term "tyrant," Zhu Youjian's words were incredibly menacing. Li Guo's expression changed drastically, and his right hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword.

The hundred or so light cavalry behind him immediately raised their lances, and the sound of muskets being raised also rang out from the Qi family army formation.

"Your Majesty!" Qi Yuan gripped his sword tightly. "Let this humble general..."

Zhu Youjian raised his hand to stop him, his gaze fixed on Li Guo. "Tell Li Zicheng that I do not pardon criminals, but I respect heroes. If he can atone for his crimes and avenge the people of the north and the 200,000 comrades in Kaifeng, then I will allow him to surrender outside Tongguan. He will not be a vassal, nor a subject of the ruler, but a son of the Han people returning to the Han people!"

"Whether Li Zicheng lives or dies at that time, I will leave it to the judgment of the people. I will never attempt to harm the rebel for my own selfish reasons."

"After all, the fact that someone dared to rebel was forced out of the court by these powerful officials."

The fact that he said such a thing already gave Li Zicheng a great opportunity to save face.

The two of them fight to the death, and the outsiders benefit the most. If they can preserve their strength, and then use the terms to bind them, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Li Guo bit his cheeks until they were sharp and angular. He struggled for a long time but could not make a decision. The matter was of great importance, and he could not make the decision for Li Zicheng. He could only kneel on one knee, clasp his hands in a fist, and change the subject.

"On behalf of my lord, I thank Your Majesty for your great favor! I have now led 50,000 soldiers of the Left Wing of the Great Shun Army to the northern pass of Feihu Ridge. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Youjian didn't care; his immediate priority was to defeat Daishan.

"I observe that your army is a large, ornate formation; how many men and horses does it number?"

"Your Majesty, my troops consist of the Left Battalion of the Great Shun Dynasty, with 10,000 cavalry, 30,000 infantry, 10,000 militia, and 3,000 heavily armored veteran cavalry as my personal guard."

"So, that means thirteen thousand cavalry?"

Zhu Youjian muttered something, rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, "Order your light cavalry to split into two teams."

"One force will drive away the routed Mongol troops and charge the main force of the Bordered Red Banner; another force will cut off Daishan's escape route to the east. The Black Armored Cavalry will press from west to east, and the remaining infantry will cooperate with the Shenji Battalion and Qi Jiguang's army to seize Zhangjiakou." "Your subordinate obeys!"

Li Guo mounted his horse, ready to lead his army away, but suddenly stopped and turned back. "Your Majesty, my lord has one more thing to say: If we win this battle, he is willing to lead his army with Your Majesty to hunt in Shenyang and see who breaks through Hetu Ala first!"

"I'm afraid Li Zicheng won't have that chance," Zhu Youjian said with a light laugh, a statement that seemed rather cryptic.

Then he turned to the Imperial Guards and said, “Carry my imperial banner, stand in Zhangjiakou, and issue an edict to the whole world: Daishan has been defeated, and Zhangjiakou will be restored to its former territory!”

After a night of fierce fighting, the Ming army mobilized again, with a clear division of labor: the cavalry went out from the south entrance and the infantry went out from the north entrance.

At this moment, Huang Degong stepped forward and said, "Has Your Majesty forgotten the direction of Xifengkou?"

“There is still a Jurchen army stationed there, and it is the Jurchen's logistical base after entering the pass.”

“The old chieftain is most adept at cutting off his tail to survive.” Zhu Youjian pulled on the reins and turned his horse around, not taking it seriously.

"If we don't surround three cities and leave one open, I'm afraid the Jurchens will become so hungry that they'll attack the city."

"Furthermore, I am not simply releasing the slaves back to the border. With Li Zicheng's rebel army, we are now surrounded from five directions!"

"I will defeat the Jurchens once and for all, so they will never be able to recover for the next twenty years!"

……

Si hour.

The remaining 20,000 troops of the Zhenghong Banner finally broke out of Feihu Ridge.

Meanwhile, Dai Shan had already fled with the Bordered Red Banner to a place seventy miles away, only ten miles from Zhangjiakou.

Less than 20,000 soldiers remained under the brocade banner, half of whom were wounded.

However, Daishan dared not stop at all.

After a night of intense fighting, everyone was exhausted and unable to move quickly.

They were then pursued relentlessly by Li Guo and his cavalry and Xuanjia cavalry.

Furthermore, the fleeing Mongol soldiers, driven by the Shun army, would occasionally crash into the main camp.

The old prince finally showed signs of dejection; most of his braid under his helmet had come undone, and a broken arrow was stuck in his neck guard.

"Your Highness, Xuanfu is just ahead. Which way should we run?" Solo shouted, pointing southeast.

Dai Shan squinted and looked out, and sure enough, he saw a city faintly visible on the horizon.

Looking further west, the Indigo Army was locked in fierce combat with the Bordered Red Banner Rear Guard, while the dust kicked up by the Black Armor Cavalry to the west was already approaching within three miles.

"Let Obama's remaining troops break out to the north to draw the attention of the Shun army."

Daishan suddenly drew his sword and cut the belt around his neck. "The guards of Baiyala will follow me to attack the city! Whoever is the first to scale the city will be rewarded with a thousand acres of farmland and appointed as a first-class light chariot commander, a hereditary title!"

"Attack the city now?!" Soroge cried out in alarm.

With tens of thousands of pursuers right behind them, how could they possibly have a chance to attack the city?

Dai Shan offered no explanation.

He still has more than 20,000 men under his command, and it is unknown how many more of the Zhenghongqi (正红旗) have managed to escape.

Zhangjiakou has been lost again. The only way to get back to the area outside the pass is through Xifengkou.

However, Xifengkou is seven or eight hundred miles away from here, and even if we work day and night, it would take three days.

Judging from the state of the soldiers with the Bordered Red Banner, they would probably collapse after being pursued for only a day.

Only then will it be truly too late to reverse the situation.

Xuanfu, being the nearest major city, not only has food supplies, but its garrison is also likely to have been taken away by Zhu Youjian. If Xuanfu can be captured, it will give the army a chance to rest and catch its breath.

He was also confident that he could break through with the help of the two red flags, which were adept at field warfare.

Moreover, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, Jirgalang's reinforcements arrived a day ahead of schedule.

If we hold out for three more days, reinforcements will surely arrive!
Upon receiving the order, the remaining 1,500 elite troops immediately turned around.

These heavily armored soldiers abandoned their horses and walked, running no slower than ordinary soldiers.

Solothu had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep up.

Before they even got close to Xuanfu, three whistling arrows flew into the sky, and dozens of red flags were suddenly raised on the city walls of Xuanfu.

Hundreds of ballistae were also brought out from the city walls, and bolts soaked in oil rained down like a storm.

Almost simultaneously, a muffled thunderous sound came from the southwest.

A thousand armored cavalrymen circled around and attacked from behind.

Daishan was shocked. Could there still be garrison troops inside Xuanfu City?!
In reality, Xuanfu had no garrison at all. A mere thousand-household garrison, plus ten thousand militiamen who had been reorganized, constituted the entire defensive force of Xuanfu.

If Daishan truly had the determination and the spirit to take Xuanfu even at the cost of being surrounded and killed, then Xuanfu would definitely fall in one battle.

Unfortunately, Daišan was no longer the same person who had fought alongside Nurhaci to conquer the world.

Since putting on shoes, Daishan has never been willing to walk barefoot.

Seeing the heavily guarded Xuanfu on the surface, Daishan gritted his teeth and changed his orders once again.

"Keep running! Run east! Go find Jirhalang!!"

"What about Oba and Mangutu, who are at the rear..." Soro asked.

Daishan remained silent, simply turning his warhorse eastward.

The fate of the 4,000 Manchu soldiers who brought up the rear and the tens of thousands of defeated troops under Obama's command was already self-evident.

Between 15,000 Jurchen warriors and tens of thousands of defeated Mongol soldiers, Solomon had no choice but to choose the former.

As it turns out, Daishan's approach was indeed the most correct one at the moment.

Tens of thousands of defeated soldiers blocked their way, and Li Guo and the Xuanjia cavalry were finally stopped.

Daishan led his army to escape and ascend to heaven.

With both sides traveling in opposite directions, Daishan and Jirhalang only had two days' journey left.

The former had already devised a plan to hold Xifengkou at all costs and bring back Dorgon and Dodo's troops.

What they didn't know was that after the Jizhou army captured Shanhaiguan, they did not hold it to the death, but instead, under Zhu Youjian's orders, they followed the route that Jirhalang had taken and pursued him all the way back.

……

The situation in the North has shifted from covert to overt.

The smoke of battle also spread from Lushunkou in Liaodong.

Dorgon never imagined that the Ming army, facing internal and external troubles, would still have the resources to launch a surprise attack on Liaodong from the north.

Therefore, he only stationed two niru (military units) at Lushun.

With a mere 600 men, Zheng Chenggong didn't even need to storm the beach; a single volley of hundreds of cannons would have been far too much for the Qing army at Lushun to withstand.

Moreover, Zheng Chenggong also brought tens of thousands of soldiers with him.

The only thing the garrison could do was to relay the news of the Ming army's landing to Angbang Zhangjing, who would then frantically send out hawks and scouts to relay the message to the 300,000-strong army that had penetrated deep behind enemy lines and to the Shengjing Imperial Palace.

(End of this chapter)