(PS: Once again, I thank the Sun God Bai Bai for his generosity.)
Early morning, Jianye.
When the night dispersed and dawn arrived, people looked at the hell-like battlefield outside the city. Only then did they truly feel how tragic the battle last night was.
The Qing army that had surrendered at the request of the Hongguang Emperor had been publicly executed.
In the eastern suburbs outside the city, the original Qing army camp of the Duoduo Tribe had been razed to the ground overnight. Corpses were everywhere, horses neighed, and black smoke curled up, adding a sense of desolation and tragedy.
Vultures circled in the sky, and wild dogs ran rampant on the ground.
The corpses exposed to the predators were not only those of the Qing army, but also those of the imperial guards of the Great Xia Dynasty and the Nanming Army. After all, they were fighting at night in an unfamiliar camp. Casualties were inevitable.
The Qing army was not a pushover.
Without the Divine Martial Guards to clear the way and the imperial guards of the Great Xia Dynasty, the outcome of the battle last night would have been hard to predict. Duoduo responded in time, but he was not strong enough. In the end, he was defeated and lost his life.
Especially in the north.
In the face of the fierce attack of the Abatai tribe, the troops guarding the city wall also suffered heavy casualties. Several times, the Qing army had already rushed to the top of the city wall and almost tore apart the line of defense of the Nanming Army.
Fortunately, Li Jing was in charge and the danger was averted.
If the Duoduo Tribe had not been defeated so early, once the Abatai tribe attacked the city, it would have been really dangerous.
Looking at the hell-like battlefield outside the city, the surviving soldiers of the Nanming Army secretly rejoiced and felt proud. The enemy's bones were their best medals of merit.
In the morning, the Hongguang Emperor personally presided over the cremation ceremony of the fallen soldiers to further boost morale. After the ceremony, the Hongguang Emperor rewarded the meritorious soldiers. The scene was extremely lively.
Ouyang Shuo only smiled and did not interfere with the Hongguang Emperor's attempt to win the hearts of the people.
In the end, Ouyang Shuo and the others were just passers-by on the battle map, not the real protagonists. Naturally, Ouyang Shuo did not need to compete with the Hongguang Emperor.
If it was in the real historical background, a regent like Ouyang Shuo would probably not have a good ending. Even if he could die of old age, there would be endless trouble after his death.
Dorgon was a typical example.
For the Qing Dynasty to enter the Central Plains and unify the world, this Assistant Minister, who had made illustrious military exploits, enjoyed great glory during his lifetime. He was successively conferred the titles of Uncle Regent, Imperial Uncle Regent, and Imperial Father Regent.
However, two months after Dorgon's death, Emperor Shunzhi stripped Dorgon of his title and dug up his tomb.
As for now, Ouyang Shuo could naturally laugh it off.
…
That afternoon, the remaining 60,000 Great Shun soldiers arrived outside Jianye City.
On their way here, they had already learned that the main force of the Qing army had been annihilated outside the city of Jianye, thereupon they quickened their marching speed, wanting to get to the bottom of it. Originally, they had some doubts about this news because they had fought with the Qing army and knew how powerful they were. It was only when he saw the uncleaned battlefield that he was convinced.
"Amazing!"
The Great Shun soldiers sighed in admiration, and their expressions were extremely carefree. Because of the destruction of Great Shun and the death of the Roaming King Li Zicheng, they had become mortal enemies with the Qing army.
After hearing the details of last night's battle from the Nanming army, the originally arrogant generals of the Great Shun army became extremely obedient, and they only had respect for Ouyang Shuo and his group.
Their gazes towards the Great Xia Imperial Army were also filled with fear.
"Please instruct us, Prince Regent. We won't say anything else." The generals patted their chests and promised.
Ouyang Shuo smiled and did not take everything seriously.
The Great Shun army, which had once dominated the Ming Dynasty's territory, was annihilated in less than half a year when faced with the encirclement of the Qing army. Although the accidental death of the Roaming King Li Zicheng was one of the reasons, the main problem was the Great Shun army itself.
After the fall of Yan Jing, the narrow-minded and backward side of this peasant army began to be exposed. Corruption, greed, and other bad habits began to spread in the army, continuously corroding it.
Old habits were hard to change.
Even if they said it beautifully, how could Ouyang Shuo easily believe them?
Fortunately, Ouyang Shuo was not fighting alone. Behind him stood a luxurious team of commanders. Ouyang Shuo smiled and introduced Li Jing to the generals of the Great Shun army.
The two sides had already contacted each other before. This time, it could be considered as an official establishment of a subordinate relationship.
The name of the Great Tang God of War still carried a lot of weight in the eyes of this group of generals. Otherwise, the Great Shun army would not have agreed to meet up the moment Li Jing set out.
After the meeting, they naturally headed north.
In order to stabilize the court, Ouyang Shuo, the Prince Regent, had to personally oversee Jianye for the time being.
Early the next morning, Li Jing would lead 35,000 Great Xia Imperial Guards, 30,000 Southern Ming Army, and 60,000 Great Shun Army to the north, a total of 125,000 troops.
Their main goal was to take back Yangzhou City.
Just as the Qing army attacked Jianye, Guo Ziyi's troops also won consecutive battles in the Huai River region. Not only did they successfully take back Huai An and Tongzhou, but they also suppressed Gao Jie's troops in one fell swoop.
The remaining troops, Huang Degong and Liu Zeqing, would probably not resist fearlessly after knowing that the Duoduo Division had been destroyed. Ouyang Shuo believed that Guo Ziyi would be able to control the armies of the three towns in Jiangbei well.
The armies of the four towns in Jiangbei had an average of about 50,000 soldiers. After a few small battles, the three towns in Jiangbei had more or less suffered some losses, but the main force still existed.
This way, even without the cooperation of Zhang Xianzhong's Great Western Army, the total number of troops in the Ming Dynasty would reach about 400,000. With such a vast army, it would be enough to charge into Yan Jing and recover the lost land.
…
On the tenth day of the battle …
Abatai led the remnants of the troops and traveled day and night before finally escaping back to Yangzhou City in a sorry state.
Less than 50,000 of the 150,000 troops who had set out on the expedition returned. The rest were all buried in the battlefield of Jianye. Even the commander of the Southern Expedition, Duo Duo, was captured and killed.
This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the Qing army, who had won consecutive battles. The entire team was dejected and dejected. They no longer had the high spirits they had when they set off.
Di Chen, who was guarding Yangzhou, had received the news a day ago. Although he had expected it, he was still very shocked when he learned that the Qing army had been defeated to such an extent.
Think about it from another perspective.
If there were a hundred thousand Great Zhou soldiers guarding Jianye, they would not have been able to achieve such a brilliant result.
"Army God Li Jing?"
A trace of desire flashed in Di Chen's eyes, but there was also unconcealable jealousy. He was jealous of why all the famous generals had joined the Great Xia and could not be used by him.
Among the ten famous generals of Huaxia, only the Great Xia had Sun Wu, Bai Qi, Han Xin, Huo Qubing, Li Jing, and Li Mu. There was also Wang Jian of the Great Qin, Wei Qing of the Great Han, and Xu Da who had yet to be born.
The only real general in the Great Zhou Dynasty was Wu Qi. Even so, Wu Qi could not really be used by Di Chen because he was loyal to Xiong Ba.
The only person Di Chen could really trust and rely on was Lian Po.
How could this not make Di Chen jealous?
But even though he was jealous, Di Chen did not lose his mind. Now the question in front of him was how should he choose?
Of course, Di Chen could lead his troops away and get rid of the quagmire of war.
But Di Chen was not willing to make this trip in vain. Not only did he let Ouyang Shuo take advantage of him, but he also did not get anything. It was also not in line with his original intention of building a friendship with the Qing Dynasty.
But if he stayed and continued to fight, what were his chances of winning?
Yangzhou City would definitely not be able to be defended. The only way was to immediately retreat to the north and wait for Dorgon to mobilize the army. Then, both sides could set up a battle formation and fight to the death.
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