Great time travel

Chapter 96, The Death Knell of the Ming Empire

However, although they had entered Shanhaiguan, Huang Taiji's tactical command was still very conservative, and he did not go straight to Beijing.

On the one hand, it was because the Battle of Dalinghe, which lasted nearly a year, had just been fought. Although the Ming army was defeated, the Jurchen soldiers were exhausted and even their horses lost weight.Now that I haven't prepared much, I suddenly have to enter the customs again to fight against Ming. I was caught off guard immediately, and my troops, ordnance, and supplies were not available, especially those Mongolian allied forces. It is necessary to send envoys to the grassland to mobilize troops—the Eight Banners soldiers and horses that Huang Taiji first brought into Shanhaiguan were only a few thousand people from the Two Yellow Banners, and the follow-up troops were still slowly coming.

On the other hand, Huang Taiji was also not at ease with the Guan Ning Army who had just surrendered. To some extent, he wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. After the Guanning army prisoners of war in the battle and the miscellaneous Ming army who were forced to surrender, the total number has reached 5 to [-].After that, even if Jin sent out all his soldiers, plus the Horqin tribe and other Mongolian allied tribes, he could only gather [-] to [-] soldiers and horses.

Obviously, no king would be at ease if such a huge uncontrollable military group was placed by his side or behind him.

Therefore, Huang Taiji used the excuse of waiting for the follow-up troops and the newly forged heavy artillery, and set up a camp in Changli County shortly after entering the pass, as the frontline headquarters of this war against Ming Dynasty.Then he grabbed the elite soldiers of the Eight Banners and sat still, and only dispatched two generals, Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang, to lead the [-] Guan Ning surrendered troops into two groups, and rushed to the capital and Tianjin—according to Huang Taiji's wishful thinking, if Zu Dashou It is of course very good if he and Wu Xiang can win the first battle; if the Guan Ning's descending army is defeated by the Jedi's counterattack Ming Ting, then it is tantamount to helping Hou Jin to remove a potential hidden danger.

Anyway, no matter which side wins, the people who die are all Han Chinese, and they are all depleting the vitality of the Ming Dynasty. Huang Taiji doesn't feel bad at all.

In this regard, the Liaoxi generals headed by Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang have nothing to say-this is basically a nomination.

As for whether he can capture the capital after entering the customs this time, Huang Taiji did not have any aspirations to win—according to what he told the Eight Banners Master, the guiding ideology of this time entering the customs is "to get an inch, to get a size, to get a size." ", nothing can be forced.It would be great to be able to break into the Forbidden City and sit in the Dragon Court in one go.If Ming Ting can't be put to death in a short while, then there is no need to fight for all of his own money.

Therefore, at the beginning, he stationed troops in Changli and sat and watched the battle, with the idea in mind that if the situation was unfavorable, he would return to Shanhaiguan.

I don’t want to think that after this sudden change, even in the face of the catastrophe of subjugation, the resistance of the Ming army can only be described as "weak and powerless". Zu Dashou, who had just turned against the Guanning Army, went straight to Gyeonggi and defeated Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army, one of the only two field armies of the Ming court in Beizhili.On the other side, Wu Xiang also played triumphant songs all the way from Shanhaiguan to the city of Tianjin. If Hong Chengchou's Qin army hadn't arrived, he might have taken this Beijing gate.

Seeing that Guan Ningjun, his own defeated generals, actually fought so smoothly and destroyed in the pass.Now the Jurchen Eight Banners who are stationed in Changli are also very jealous. For a while, they are all gearing up and eager to try.

And Huang Taiji, who originally planned to continue to wait and see for a while, couldn't hold back the turmoil of the people below. Seeing that the Eight Banners soldiers and horses had almost assembled, and the Mongolian cavalry from the Horqin tribe had also arrived, they set off from Changli and continued to march towards the Ming Kingdom. The capital advances.

Perhaps this time it was really due to the good fortune of the stars. The Jurchen army had just arrived in Leting County when they received another piece of good news.

"... Great joy! Khan! The Ming army in Tianjin has mutinied! God bless me, Dajin!"

In the swirling dust, the chubby Mang Gurtai squinted a pair of peas and happily rode a bay red horse from the front. Before getting close to Huang Taiji's driver, he was far away Shouted, "...as long as Hong Chengchou is defeated, the Chongzhen child will die!"

Seeing Mang Gurtai's ignorant and rude behavior, Huang Taiji couldn't help frowning for a while, but after hearing his words, he was overjoyed immediately, "...the Ming army in Tianjin really mutinied? Could it be some rumor?"

"...It's absolutely true! According to reports from Tan Ma Lai, the city of Tianjin is on fire! The fireworks can be seen four or five miles away!"

Mang Gurtai said cheerfully, "...Wu Xiang also sent an envoy to say this, and he will arrive in a while!"

"...Very good! Very good! God bless me Dajin!" Huang Taiji took a deep breath, then turned his head and shouted loudly, "...Quickly send the order, the Eight Banners will immediately select elite cavalry, one person Two horses, carry three days of dry food, and follow me to attack Tianjin!"

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North Zhili, Shuntian Prefecture, Tianjin Acropolis
A cruel scene of plundering, burning and killing people is being staged in this city known as the "Gate of the Son of Heaven".

Inside and outside the mottled and dilapidated city walls of Tianjin, the sound of shouts of killing in a Shaanxi accent was earth-shattering, clouds of black smoke fluttered over the city, the streets and alleys were filled with the cries of soldiers and civilians in the city, and hordes of rioting soldiers were still coming from all over the city. All the camps came, and they rushed to the city continuously.

These days, the rebellious soldiers from Shanshan, who have been starving and full of resentment, armed with all kinds of weapons, broke down the doors of every household in Tianjin, robbed their property, raped their wives and daughters, and even deprived them of their lives. , set fire to their houses...

Not long ago, the Shaanxi rescuers who had just lifted the siege of Tianjin became the bandits and butchers who ravaged the city.

All discipline and morality are wiped out at this moment, leaving only the most primitive cruelty and violence.

When Hong Chengchou, who was preparing military rations at Dagukou, learned of the bad news that there was a change in the rear, he hurried back to Tianjin with the Chinese Army Supervision Battalion. The city of Tianjin was already full of flames, thick smoke, and mourning everywhere—every street Both sides of the alley were filled with mutilated corpses, and the blood flowing out along the cracks in the bluestone pavement stretched across the street. People kept rushing out from the house carrying packages, only to be overtaken by the chasing army. , hacked to death with a knife, and then robbed him of his belongings.And the woman's cries and screams came from every house...

When he saw the body of the governor of Tianjin also hung on the beam of the yamen, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but his eyes darkened and he passed out.

——Just half a day after Hong Chengchou left the barracks, Qian Shisheng, the second assistant to the cabinet of the Beijing imperial court, came to inspect.As soon as this man arrived in Tianjin, he swaggered into the barracks, summoned the generals of King Qin's army, mainly the Qin army, and scolded them for being greedy for life and fear of death. Be sure to arrive at the capital within five days, otherwise there will be severe punishments... But Qian Shisheng did not mention a single word about the most critical issue of food and grass supply, obviously thinking that these lowly warriors are gods who eat wind and drink dew , Even if you only drink northwest wind, you should be able to fight.

(The Beijing imperial court at the end of the Ming Dynasty has always had this problem. Once it encounters a crisis, it desperately mobilizes troops from other places to the capital, thinking that the more troops, the more at ease, but it does not prepare logistics supplies at all. It seems that these soldiers and horses also have to eat Yes, the result is the mutiny of the reinforcements, and the loyal ministers are terrified.)
What made King Qin's army even more indignant was that after reprimanding the sergeants who were bleeding and sweating with white strips, Qian Shisheng would go to Tianjin Acropolis again to reward the governor of Tianjin for his "meritorious service in defending the city" - it is said that The governor was throwing money wantonly in the court, and he paid heavy bribes to several court elders.As a result, all the armies outside the city were furious: If we hadn't rushed to rescue and rescue the siege, your broken city would have already fallen!

Moreover, you dog official clearly has the money to bribe important officials in the court, why do you sit and watch us saviors starve to death outside the city?Desperate!

As a result, hungry, angry, full of grievances, several middle and low-level officers of the Qin army, such as Qianhu, Baihu, etc., took advantage of the opening of the city gate by the Tianjin government to welcome the second assistant Qian Shisheng. , led his cronies and servants to swarm up, killed and dispersed the defenders, and seized a city gate.Immediately afterwards, the same resentful army from all walks of life rushed into Tianjin in a clamor and uproar, plundering troops, killing and arson.Due to the absence of the prestigious Governor Hong Chengchou, the generals of the various ministries could not restrain the excited officers and soldiers at all, and soon made the commotion even bigger.

——All the soldiers know very well in their hearts that due to the series of bullshit and harsh treatment before, the anger of the soldiers has now exploded like a powder keg, and it can no longer be suppressed.Even their bosses can only follow the soldiers' minds and simply make a big fuss, otherwise they will be the first to be killed.Anyway, today is a turbulent world. Although according to the system, the gentlemen are noble and the military are humble, but as long as the generals in charge of soldiers and horses are not rebellious, even the imperial court can only try to appease them after causing chaos such as mutiny. Don't dare to pursue it severely.

These veterans, they are now playing tricks like this. As early as the Wanli and Tianqi years, the frontier soldiers on the nine frontiers in the north played such a trick from time to time because they were in arrears with their salaries all the year round. Instead of beating civil servants to vent their anger, It is to rob residential businesses, at least to get some benefits.Anyway, the law does not blame the public, as long as a few people are pushed out to take care of the dead ghosts in the end, any crime of mutiny and robbery can be settled.

Therefore, when Governor Hong Chengchou came back, the situation in Tianjin was beyond control, and the rioting soldiers acted recklessly in the city, not only robbing the merchants and big households in Tianjin, but also setting fire to the yamen and killing officials— ——Qian Shisheng, the second assistant of the cabinet who came to inspect and urge the soldiers, was overturned by the rebels at the gate of the city, and he fled to no one. Ma Qian cried out and asked the governor to give him justice. Immediately afterwards, all the respectable gentry and merchants in Tianjin also came to him collectively, demanding that Governor Hong must severely punish those rebel officers and soldiers who dared to kill and loot in Tianjin...

But the generals of King Qin's army also came together, appealed to the governor, cried and complained that the court was unfair and mistreated these meritorious officials. He was ten years old—the rebellious soldiers ran into the car of the cabinet minister, and he deserved to die; but he would have to rely on these people to fight against Liaodong Jiannu in the future, and he really didn't dare to punish him harshly: in case he was angry However, what should we do if we simply run away or even defect to the enemy?The Liaoxi generals are sending out letters of persuasion all over the world these days?

Therefore, Governor Hong Chengchou had no choice but to find a way to make peace, trying to adjust the contradiction, and everything was based on maintaining stability.But no matter how he fights with the mud, the two sides are still fighting against each other, wanting revenge on the one hand and redressing grievances on the other. After tossing back and forth for a long time, the matter has not been calmed down.

Then, Governor Hong Chengchou soon discovered that he no longer had to worry about the mess after the Tianjin Mutiny.

Because, while smoke was still lingering in the city of Tianjin, corpses were everywhere, officials were still spitting at each other, and rebels were still busy killing people and stealing goods, at the end of the distant horizon, a cloud of dust had risen up, and Countless banners fluttering in the wind...

"...It's terrible! It's the Tartars! It's the Jurchen Tartars who killed them!"

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On the first day of October in the fifth year of Chongzhen, Qian Shisheng, the second assistant of the cabinet, went out to inspect Tianjin and urged all ministries to rush to Beijing to rescue him.At that time, Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, went out to raise food, so Qian Shisheng summoned the generals to give a lecture.The generals were annoyed, thinking that the imperial court had treated the heroes harshly, and immediately started to stir up chaos, causing the army to mutiny. They invaded the city of Tianjin and set fire to looting wantonly. The governor of Tianjin, Du Sance, was killed.

On the third day of October, Hong Chengchou rushed back to Tianjin after hearing the news, trying to suppress the mutiny, but it was too late.The rebellion among the officers and soldiers in Tianjin has not yet been settled. Huang Taiji, the slave chieftain, personally led the Jurchen elite cavalry and the Guanning rebels, a total of more than [-] people, had marched a long distance to the city of Tianjin in the afternoon of the fourth day of the lunar new year.

Due to the haste of the incident, tens of thousands of Qin Wang's officers and troops were completely unprepared, so they collapsed without a fight, and Tianjin Wei fell immediately.Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, led the standard battalion guards to fight out from the rebellious army. He first fled to Jinghai County, was rejected by the county magistrate, and then fled to Cangzhou, exhausted. On the way, Wu Xiang was captured by the Guanning rebel.

So far, the officers and troops of the two routes of Jifu have all collapsed, and none of the remnants survives. The vanguard of Jianshou has entered Hejian Mansion, and the capital has become an isolated city. The soldiers and civilians are all terrified...