Outnumbered? I'll conquer America with an unlimited number of suicide soldiers.

Chapter 146 Oregon and Beijing

Oregon, Oregon City.

White people gathered on the cliffs of Singh at the eastern end of the city, their faces filled with fear or resentment.

Below the cliff, hundreds of Native Americans did not rush to attack, but instead guarded the few main routes down the mountain, seemingly determined to trap the white people on the cliff.

Behind these Native Americans, inside a building in the city.

Baiyun sat in an oak armchair, with a hand-drawn map of the Oregon region spread out on the table in front of her.

The map was marked with dozens of red circles drawn in charcoal, from Seaside in the west to the Blue Mountains in the east, and from the Columbia River in the north to Clamathsburg in the south. Each red circle represented a settlement that had fallen or was under siege.

The red circles are so dense that there are almost no clean blank areas left on the map.

"So, in the entire Oregon region, not a single entity is willing to sit down and talk?"

The envoys, who had just returned from various places, stood in the room, still covered in dust and sweat from their long journey.

An envoy sent to the Warawara tribe stepped forward, bowed his head, and said, "Chief, the Warawara people say that no one is allowed to set foot in their territory."

Oregon's territory was passed down from their ancestors, and both white people and us must leave their land.

They also said————

Bai Yun said with a half-smile, "What else is there to say?"

The envoy hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "They also said that they want that outsider from the south to get out of their territory with his bastard army. If he takes another step forward, they will kill the white enemy and the southern scum together."

Bai Yun showed no anger on her face, and even laughed out loud: "So, the Warawara people want to be treated the same as the white people? No problem, I'll grant their wish."

Another envoy who had just returned from the Chinook tribe stepped forward and said, "Chief, the Chinook tribe in the lower Columbia River is a little more cooperative and did not directly expel us, but they are also unwilling to cooperate."

Their elders said they had lived at the mouth of the Columbia River for hundreds of years, and that both the white people and they themselves were outsiders. They wanted to remain neutral and not take sides.

"Neutral? That means not taking our side."

Bai Yun understood, pointing to the map and saying, "The white people in Oregon have either died or fled under our attack."

These Native Americans can't even beat the white people, yet they dare to bare their teeth at us. Looks like we've been too lenient with them.

He straightened up and looked at the many messengers in the room: "Tell the brothers below that from today onwards, all Native American tribes in Oregon that refuse to submit will be regarded as white forces."

No more envoys will be sent, no more negotiations will be accepted, those who resist will be killed on sight, and those who surrender will be relocated from the territory and resettled in centralized locations.

"yes.

""

Outside Guangqumen Gate in the capital city.

As the sound of horses' hooves swept in from the south, the soldiers of the infantry commander's office were changing shifts. The afternoon sun was scorching, and several soldiers opened their uniforms and leaned against the city wall to seek shade.

The first to hear the sound was an old soldier, who squinted and looked south. On the official road to the south, a cloud of yellow dust was rapidly approaching, its dust plume low and fast.

"Something's happened! Go report to the adults immediately!"

The soldiers dared not delay and hurriedly ran to find the city gatekeeper who was resting in the shade.

Upon hearing this, the city gatekeeper hurriedly led his men up the city wall and took out a monocular telescope to look into the distance. He saw that the cavalry leader in the distance was wearing the official robes of a prince and looked like he was in a hurry to escape, with more than a dozen cavalrymen following behind him, all of whom were wearing crooked helmets and armor.

"The Venerable Monk? How could he be in such a disheveled state?"

The city gatekeeper murmured in disbelief, looking through his binoculars further into the distance. He saw dozens of riders chasing after Senggelinqin several hundred meters behind, shouting something.

"not good!"

He turned to his soldiers and shouted, "All archers and gunners, take your positions immediately! Light the beacon fires on the watchtowers! Raise the drawbridge as soon as the Prince has crossed!"

"If enemy cavalry pursues us, immediately lower the heavy gate to block their path!"

"yes!"

Chaos erupted at the city gate. People carrying loads, pushing carts, and leading donkeys huddled together. Several soldiers pushed and shoved them inside. The heavy iron gate slammed shut with a creaking sound from its hinges, leaving only a crack.

Once Senggelinqin and his cavalry had successfully escaped into the city, the drawbridge was quickly raised, and the gaps in the city gates were swiftly closed and disappeared.

The news that Senggelinqin had escaped with his life and fled back to the capital spread throughout the city before evening that day.

At Dongsi Archway, Xisi Archway, Gulou Street, and outside Di'anmen, in every teahouse, pawnshop, and alleyway, people were spreading the word.

As the story spread, the number of bandits grew, with some saying there were several thousand and others saying there were tens of thousands.

Some say the rebels have already set up cannons outside Yongding Gate, some say Tianjin has already fallen, and others say the rebels are foreigners from the sea who specialize in killing Manchus and leave no survivors.

The most direct manifestation of the panic was the mass exodus from the inner city that began at dusk that day.

Xizhimen was the first to be blocked.

Mule carts, horse carts, and donkey carts poured out from the entrances of various alleys, merging into the main street leading to the city gate, forming slow, inching torrents.

A blue woolen carriage carrying a Manchu noblewoman got stuck at the city gate when it was blocked by a grain-carrying donkey cart. The two vehicles were locked together and neither could move.

The flow of people carrying large carts, horses, mule sedan chairs, and pack animals on foot grew larger and larger, stretching from the city gate all the way to Xisi Archway.

The situation at Deshengmen, Andingmen, and Dongzhimen was similar. All the Manchu bannermen in the city were fleeing north, with only one destination: Rehe.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City.

Emperor Xianfeng sat on the kang (heated brick bed) in the East Warm Pavilion. On the kang table was a bowl of white fungus soup, which had cooled down and the white fungus on the surface had solidified into a gelatinous layer.

He held in his hand a folded document that had just been handed over from the Military Affairs Department. The handwriting on the document was messy, clearly indicating that it had been written in a hurry.

He only read a few lines before slamming the folding book to the ground. The eunuch serving beside him was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud, his forehead pressed against the gold brick, not daring to breathe.

"Senggelinqin, my Prince Bodolgatai! I gave him the Mongol cavalry and the Zhili Provincial Military Command, and what did he bring back for me?"

"One barely escaped with his life?!"

He gasped for breath, his chest heaving, and pointed sharply towards the palace gate, shouting, "Where is he? Tell him to get in here and see me!"

Senggelinqin knelt outside the hall. He hadn't had time to change out of his princely robes, which were stained with sweat and blood. The five-clawed golden dragon on the insignia was half covered in blood, making it look like a crushed loach.

The palace doors creaked open, and the high-pitched voice of the imperial eunuch pierced the air: "Summon—Prince Senggelinqin of Bodolegatai to an audience!"

Senggelinqin steadied himself and entered the East Warm Pavilion with his head down.

Upon entering the hall, he knelt down with a thud, his forehead striking the gold bricks with a dull thud. He didn't raise his head; his forehead remained pressed against the gold bricks, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

None of the kneeling ministers turned to look at him. Mu Yin stared at the gold bricks in front of him. Duan Hua and Zai Yuan moved to the side to make room for Senggelinqin to kneel, and also to leave themselves room to distance themselves from the situation.

Emperor Xianfeng looked down at the blood-soaked Mongol prince at his feet and said coldly, "Senggelinqin, I have treated you well."

Senggelinqin pressed his forehead firmly against the gold brick, his voice muffled: "This servant deserves to die a thousand deaths."

"You deserve to die? You do deserve to die!"

Emperor Xianfeng walked up to Senggelinqin and said, "I sent you to suppress the bandits, but you threw thousands of lives on the plains and came back alone on horseback."

Senggelinqin's body trembled violently as he said, "This servant has failed His Majesty's grace, and even death is not enough to atone for my sins."

"But this servant must return alive and report the truth of Tianjin to His Majesty. Otherwise, even in death, this servant will have no face to face the late Emperor."

"The truth? What truth?"

Senggelinqin said, "Your Majesty, the enemy is not the Left Battalion of the Zhenbiao Army under Danian's command at all. They are Han Chinese, thoroughly Han Chinese!"

"The leader of the opposing cavalry called himself Li Wenzhong, and he didn't have a queue on his head! His five hundred cavalrymen all had short hair!"

Moreover, they were armed with all the latest firearms provided by foreigners. Their cannons loaded more than ten times faster than ours. In just a few shots, all the cannons and men under my command were gone!

A slight commotion arose in the East Warm Pavilion, and the expressions of the ministers instantly turned strange.

Those present, whether Manchu, Mongol, or Han, were all well-versed in history and naturally knew the name Li Wenzhong, as well as what that name meant to the Mongols.

"Li Wenzhong, what a fine Li Wenzhong."

Upon hearing the name, Emperor Xianfeng was first taken aback, then laughed in exasperation: "Doesn't he have an uncle named Zhu Yuanzhang?"

"Alright, go on!"

Senggelinqin continued, "Your Majesty, this is neither a mutiny nor a banditry; it is a rebellion that the Han people have been plotting for a long time."

"This humble servant presumptuously speculates: the fall of Tianjin was most likely the work of Han Chinese colluding with foreigners, and the Dagu Forts will certainly fall as well. The southern gates of Beijing are now completely open."

That's enough.

Emperor Xianfeng leaned against a bright yellow cushion. He looked at the officials kneeling on the ground, his gaze shifting from Senggelinqin to Muyin, Ruilin, Duanhua, and Zaiyuan in turn.

"Now that things have come to this, I will not pursue your responsibility. The important thing now is to defend the capital and take back Tianjin."

""

Upon hearing this, the kneeling ministers almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. They knew that the fundamental reason Emperor Xianfeng didn't want to pursue the matter was that he couldn't.

Senggelinqin was one of the few princes among the Manchu and Mongol nobles who could command troops and fight tough battles. Although he had been defeated, he was still alive and still had his skills.

If he were to be convicted and imprisoned at this time, the entire court would not be able to find another person capable of leading troops in a short period of time.

The Grand Ministers, the Grand Councilors, the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department, and several Manchu nobles still in Beijing adjusted their kneeling postures slightly, and the atmosphere in the Hall of Mental Cultivation changed from the deathly silence to a tense busyness.

"I only ask you one thing: how many troops can the imperial court mobilize right now?"

Ruilin slowly said, "Your Majesty, the troops that Prince Seng had previously commanded were already at the limit of what could be mobilized. Between Tianjin and Beijing, there are no more organized field troops available in the short term."

"Then adjust it."

Emperor Xianfeng asked, "How many Eight Banners troops are left in the Beijing Garrison? How many can be mobilized from the Fengtai Garrison? What about the Eight Banners troops stationed in Miyun?"

Mu Yin hurriedly said, "This servant has already drafted an imperial edict, ordering the entire Fengtai camp to proceed to Guangqumen, and ordering the Deputy Commander of Miyun to lead his troops to defend the capital. At the same time, it is proposed to order the remaining troops of various garrisons in Zhili to rush to the aid overnight."

The Miyun garrison only has about two thousand men. Although the Fengtai camp has a quota of ten thousand soldiers, there's a serious problem of unpaid pay; the actual number of soldiers is only four or five thousand, and most of them are old and weak. Even combined, they don't amount to twenty thousand.

"If that's not enough, then keep adjusting."

Emperor Xianfeng interrupted him, saying, "After the various units of the Fengtai Camp arrive, they will be deployed to defend the southern city. The Eight Banners garrison in Miyun will assist in the defense of the eastern city. All nine gates of the inner city will be reinforced with additional troops."

"Many guards are stationed in front of the Yuewu Tower, and an additional checkpoint is set up outside the Shenwu Gate. Each prince's residence dispatches its own troops to assist in the defense of the imperial city."

His gaze finally fell on Senggelinqin, who was still kneeling on the ground with his forehead pressed against the gold brick.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

"Senggelinqin".

"Your servant is here."

"I will remember your crime."

Emperor Xianfeng slowly said, "The capital is in danger right now, and it is precisely the time when we need capable people. I will not punish you for your defeat."

You shall return to your residence immediately and take full control of the capital's defenses before dawn, personally overseeing the situation. If you hold the city, your merits and demerits will cancel each other out. If you fail, I will punish you for all your crimes, both new and old, without leniency.

Senggelinqin trembled and kowtowed heavily: "This servant, though guilty, will defend the capital to the death. The city stands as long as I live; the city falls, and I die."

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