Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Chapter 624: What you can’t get, you should destroy it

Huang Taiji watched the entire battle. In just over two quarters of an hour, the 20,000 Mongolian infantry suffered huge losses and their morale collapsed.

The Ming Dynasty became stronger.

No, it's because of that bastard that this happened.

Huang Taiji put down the monocular telescope in his hand. Although his face remained calm, he became more determined to kill Zhang Shikang.

Through the telescope, Zhang Shikang looked particularly young, with a kind of uninhibited calmness. Huang Taiji could never understand why such a seemingly dandy young man could change a country.

As the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he knew too well how difficult it was to rule a country.

One must understand governance, strategy, and people's livelihoods, be able to balance the relationships between various forces, and also take care of the people below...

He knew that the Ming court had generally passed a series of reforms, but no one knew better than him how difficult the reforms were and the huge resistance they faced.

What's more, this guy is not the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

How much did Emperor Chongzhen trust this kid? Isn’t it said that he is very suspicious?

Huang Taiji was depressed and regretted that a person like Zhang Shikang was not by his side. He thought that if such a person were around, the Qing Dynasty might have entered the pass long ago.

"Ugh!"

Huang Taiji sighed for no reason, attracting the attention of the civil and military officials of the Qing Dynasty around him.

Suksaha thought Huang Taiji was discouraged by the battle just now, so he volunteered:

"Your Majesty, how can you sigh over this little difficulty? That bastard is just relying on the power of his musket.

But no matter how powerful he is, he only has 30,000 men, and only half of them are musketeers, while the Qing army here alone has hundreds of thousands of men.

Regardless, I have the advantage, and I invite you to fight!"

Suksaha believed that the previous defeat was largely due to Merlin's incompetence, as he wasted too much time at the edge of the two trenches.

Not only were his subordinates all Manchurian Plain White Banner warriors, but he also had more than 4,000 cavalrymen, who had a natural restraint on infantry.

He still remembered Huang Taiji's promise just now that if he could break through the enemy's line of defense, he would be granted the title of Duke. He was already a first-class duke, but it would not prevent him from seeking another title for his family's descendants.

"I agree, Suksaha. In addition to your more than 10,000 troops, I will also assign you 2,000 elite cavalry from the Bordered Yellow Banner.

If you can break through the enemy lines, I will promote you to a higher rank." Huang Taiji's face remained calm.

Suksaha's face immediately showed joy. He was now a first-class duke. If he was promoted again, he would be a king. A county prince was also a king.

Soon, Suksaha took the order and left.

Huang Taiji glanced at Prince Rui Dorgon and said sadly in a voice that no one else could hear:

"If this boy dies here, it will not only be a loss to the Ming court, but also a loss to the Qing Dynasty."

The Qing royal family did not know much about governing a country. Their father, the Khan, was constantly at war and did not have the energy to teach them. He just asked them to read The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

So much so that up to now, apart from him and his elder brother Daishan, the only brother who can be capable of taking on important tasks is the fourteenth brother Dorgon.

The Qing Dynasty is still implementing the seven-member council system. The so-called seven-member council means that state affairs are discussed and decided by seven high-ranking members of the royal family, including the heir to the Qing Dynasty.

It is also for this reason that the Qing Dynasty did not establish a crown prince.

However, Huang Taiji believed that the inheritance system passed down by the Han people for thousands of years was more efficient and could also avoid possible internal strife.

But... his eldest son Haoge has a hot temper and lacks wisdom. He can only use some clever tricks. His temperament is similar to Duoduo's.

With such a personality, many people would probably be dissatisfied if he was made the crown prince, but he is really old and his health has been getting worse recently.

Alas, one thing leads to another.

Dorgon immediately understood that his royal brother was attracted by his talent, just like Cao Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saw Zhao Yun.

"I beg your pardon. Your Majesty, please do not forget that it was Cao Mengde's momentary weakness that allowed Zhao Yun to escape, and he has since become your formidable enemy."

Dorgon also admitted that Zhang Shikang was a capable person, but compared to this, Zhang Shikang's repeated humiliation of him overshadowed those advantages.

In particular, Zhang Shikang's unruly and annoyed look made Dorgon feel that even if this person could be used by the Qing Dynasty, he would probably not get along with him.

If you can't get it, you should destroy it.

"I am not a person who is indecisive. It's just a pity." Huang Taiji shook his head without comment, changed the subject and asked:

"Why is there such a large area of land behind the enemy lines? What do you think?"

"They are hiding it, but it's just some cannons. I've seen them before." After saying this, Dorgon suddenly felt a little regretful, because he happened to lose 30 of the only 50 red cannons of the Qing Dynasty in Jinzhou City.

Huang Taiji looked at him meaningfully. It took the Qing Dynasty more than a year to produce those fifty cannons.

Thirty guns were captured in the first battle, and the remaining twenty guns were left to Jirgalang by Huang Taiji because they were used to attack Guihua City and were not conducive to rapid marching.

It has been two or three days and there has been no news from there. I don’t know what’s going on.

However, Huang Taiji was not very worried. Jirgalang was a steady person and had a lot of cavalry. Even if he could not capture Guihua City, he should be able to protect himself.

The two chatted for a while, and Suksaha came over to ask for instructions. Huang Taiji immediately ordered people to beat the drums.

The second confrontation of Guanshan Meat Grinder has begun.

Suksaha was wearing heavy armor, and behind him were 500 heavily armored cavalry, 5,000 light cavalry archers, and 14,000 elite infantry of the Plain White Banner.

There were few Manchus in the Qing Dynasty, so the number of the Eight Banners was naturally the smallest. In ordinary wars, the Eight Banners were mostly used as the finale or deterrent.

The battles were basically carried out by the Eight Banners of Mongolia. After all, the Mongols were both good at fighting and had a large number of people.

As for the Eight Banners of the Han Army, they were used for consumption most of the time. It sounds a bit harsh to call them cannon fodder, but it's almost the same.

All the troops involved in this battle were from the Manchu Eight Banners Army.

There are no more than ten thousand Eight Banners soldiers, but if there are more than ten thousand, they are invincible. Pride is revealed on the face of every Eight Banners soldier. This pride comes from the bones and is earned by the Eight Banners warriors through decades of fighting.

Suksaha gave his final mobilization to the warriors behind him in Manchu:

"The enemy blocking our Great Qing Empire is right in front of us. The cavalry must charge with all their might, regardless of the cost, to disrupt the enemy's formation. Pay attention to those two trenches. I believe that for your elite cavalry, a trench as wide as one step is not an obstacle at all.

The rest of the infantry should catch up as quickly as possible, protect vital points with shields, tall ones should cross the trenches, and short ones should quickly go around them, without hesitation or pause.

Those who are cowardly and do not move forward should know the price they will pay."

If any Eight Banners soldier retreated after charging, not only would he be executed, but his family would also be implicated and unable to hold their heads up, which was the greatest humiliation for them.

"Kill the enemy!" More than 20,000 Manchu Eight Banners soldiers shouted in unison. Their high morale made Merlin, who had just retreated, tremble all over.

Suksaha stopped talking and drew his sword, pointing it at the guards.

"charge!"

……