You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 370 The Last Eight Banners!

The narrow road between the Yanshan Mountains and the Bohai Sea is known as the Liaoxi Corridor. It is about 300 li long, and the narrowest part is only 10 li. It is the only feasible passage for supply trains between Liaodong and the Central Plains.

Nearly 10 military settlements are located along this corridor.

The density is astonishing.

Riding the momentum of their victory at Shanhaiguan, the allied forces swept through the enemy lines with ease, easily capturing one military settlement after another. The reason for this ease was that the garrison in these cities was extremely small.

It's full of loopholes; one attack and it's broken.

The Qing army's defeats along the way were like a snowball, growing bigger and bigger.

More than a thousand people fled from Shanhaiguan, and along the way they gathered bannermen, their families, and servants, eventually forming a refugee caravan of up to ten thousand people.

Noon.

The group started a fire by the roadside to cook.

Suddenly, someone shouted in terror, "Run! They're catching up again!"

Everyone turned to look, and saw that several miles behind them, billowing dust had risen as the Zhili cavalry caught up again!

Thousands of people were in complete chaos.

Some took off running as fast as they could.

Some climbed onto the horse's back and frantically spurred it on.

Some even burst into tears on the spot.

Some, however, buckled at the knees, resigning themselves to their fate. Whether it was a steel knife to their neck or being enslaved again, it didn't matter.

……

Several miles away.

Hundreds of cavalrymen, with tree branches trailing behind their horses, spread out in formation and ran at a leisurely pace, raising huge clouds of dust that made them appear at first glance to be tens of thousands of riders.

Upon seeing those who surrendered, the cavalrymen silently drew their sabers and turned the prisoners into corpses.

Then, we rested on the spot.

Eat the hot food that these people haven't had a chance to eat yet.

Don't rush the pursuit, or you'll easily provoke the other side into a desperate act.

They would chase for a while, then slow down, gradually wearing the opponent down until they were exhausted enough to win.

The left ear of each corpse was cut off as the sole proof of receipt for the reward.

Chiang Kai-shek's original words: In order to defend the nascent united empire, there are no innocent civilians after leaving Shanhaiguan Pass; they are all remnants. Killing them will be of great benefit.

Inside the saddlebag were bloodied left ears.

Half an hour later.

A large cavalry force arrived.

The formation, with lighter troops in front and heavier ones in the back, was arranged in the fear that the Eight Banners would resort to desperate measures. These men still had fighting power; it was just that their morale had collapsed.

They chased each other relentlessly, peeling back the layers of the enemy's defenses along the way.

Until the banks of the Daling River.

……

Amidst the turbulent river, Li Dingguo stood ready, sword in hand.

More than 4000 people trekked for half a month through the foothills of the Yanshan Mountains from Xifengkou to Dalinghe, and finally caught up.

The hunt begins!
On the opposite bank, the disorganized flag bearers and their families pushed the boats and rafts they had collected into the river and rowed using whatever tools they could find.

"Fire arrows!"

The archers took turns firing arrows, and people kept falling into the river after being hit by them.

They attacked while the enemy was crossing the river.

The Daling River was quickly stained red with blood.

The Qing army continued their frantic crossing of the river, as pursuers were closing in from behind. Some who could not find boats even chose to swim across by themselves.

One after another.

The Daling River was filled with corpses.

"Prince Jin, we've run out of arrows."

“They formed a line of spears, and if any Tartars landed, they were pushed back into the river.”

……

The sounds of battle echoed along the banks of the Daling River.

An hour and a half later, the Zhili cavalry, who had been pursuing them relentlessly, arrived. The Qing army waiting to cross the river was thrown into chaos. They were blocked in front and pursued from behind, with no way to escape.

"Let's fight those Nikans."

The standard-bearers stood on the outside with shields and spears, while the archers stood on the inside. The two sides fought for half an hour, with casualties on both sides.

The Zhili cavalry, not wanting to suffer too many casualties, retreated half a mile to await reinforcements.

The next day.

The first to arrive were 5000 Tianyou soldiers.

When Prince Pingnan Shang Kexi saw that the Qing army opposite him had no drums, horns, or flags, and their formation was in disarray, he was filled with anxiety and couldn't help but sigh.

"I never expected this, I really never expected this."

Wang Fuchen continued:
"Your Highness, what haven't you thought of?"

"I never imagined that even a Manchu warrior could fall into such a predicament."

"Your Highness is joking. What's wrong with Manchus? Manchus are people too; they also have two shoulders and one head. This humble general truly doesn't understand where the saying 'Manchus are invincible if they number less than ten thousand' came from?"

Wang Fuchen was very disdainful.

With his graying hair, Shang Kexi sighed inwardly. He never imagined that he would be able to return to Liaodong in this lifetime and even torture and kill his master. He had truly rebelled against the Heavenly Gang.

That's really rare!
……

The messenger shouted all the way:
"By order of the prince, arquebusiers and archers will lead the charge."

One hundred shield bearers, three hundred arquebusiers, and two hundred archers were ordered to step forward, marching in neat ranks until they stopped after 50 paces.

The two sides exchanged fire!

The fleeing Qing soldiers didn't have many arrows and gunpowder with them. After a few rounds of shooting, they ran out and were forced to draw their swords and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The archers of the Tianyou Army fired arrows rapidly, inflicting heavy casualties on the Qing army.

Afterwards, long-range riflemen were deployed to launch a counterattack.

Two thousand Zhili cavalrymen, who had been waiting for an opportunity, suddenly attacked from the flank, resulting in a crushing defeat for the Qing army. Corpses littered the fields, and the survivors jumped into the river in despair.

Noon the next day.

Chiang Kai-shek finally arrived at the battlefield.

Shang Kexi quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and happily reported:
"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, our Tianyou Army has lived up to its mission, killing 4000 Tartars in battle, while an unknown number of others committed suicide by jumping into the river. To demonstrate the martial prowess of the Allied Forces, Your Majesty has ordered the construction of a Jingguan (a mound of skulls).

"Good, Tianyou Army's loyalty is commendable."

"Thank you, Chief Minister."

suddenly~
Jiang Qingyun pointed at several passing soldiers, his face grim: "Why haven't you cut your queues?"

Shang Kexi rushed up and punched and kicked the two old soldiers with braids until their faces were covered in blood, and they fell to the ground, clutching their heads and begging for mercy.

Jiang Qingyun: "Alright."

Shang Kexi: "Aren't you going to thank the Prime Minister? Get out of here!"

Watching the backs of the two ruffians, Jiang Qingyun shook his head: "Prince Pingnan, this matter is of great importance. Keeping your queue is, at best, negligence, and at worst, treason. Treason is punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family."

"Yes Yes."

Shang Kexi was quite frightened by Jiang Qingyun.

……

After annihilating the Qing army in western Liaoning at Dalinghe, the hundreds of thousands of troops tasted success and were eager to fight again.

Shengjing.

It resembles a ripe fruit on a tree.

But ~
Jiang Qingyun remained calm and unhurried, with his army marching 30 li a day as if taking a leisurely stroll. At the same time, he sent multiple envoys to the Khorchin and Chahar tribes to request their assistance.

Using the momentum of victory, they forced all sides to submit.

War is also politics. By testing the loyalty of all parties through battles beyond the Great Wall, the central government can increase its prestige and secretly consolidate local power.

If they don't comply, the army will conquer Shengjing and then deal with the disobedient ones as well.

Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Inside the low-ceilinged palace, King Yi Ho of Goryeo could not hide his anger.

The two classes of civil and military officials stood silently on either side, trembling with fear.

"Your Majesty, this is an ultimatum. If your country's military provisions and troops cannot arrive in time, the Grand Secretary will be enraged, and your country will suffer a million corpses and rivers of blood."

A minister stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, it is not that our country is trying to shirk its responsibility, but that Goryeo is indeed impoverished and we simply cannot afford to produce 5 shi of precious grain.”

Another minister stepped forward: "In the past two years, our country's south has been plagued by floods, droughts, and locusts. If we were to provide another 5 shi of military rations, our people would surely starve to death in large numbers."

"Yeah yeah."

The ministers in the hall echoed his sentiments.

The envoy parted her lips slightly:
“Starving to death is a small matter, but filial impiety is a great matter. You just mentioned that there are frequent floods and droughts in the country? According to Confucius, when a great disaster strikes, it means that the ruler has lost his virtue.”

(End of this chapter)