In the end, the Great Shun army took the bait.
On the 29th day of the battle, just as the Great Shun army was about to reach Xi 'an City, Zhang Xianzhong personally led the 120,000 soldiers of the Great Western Army as the main force. Together with the 60,000 local militias and 20,000 new recruits, they formed an army of 200,000 soldiers and surrounded the Great Shun army.
The following battle was extremely tragic.
The surrounded Great Shun army was quite resolute and didn't surrender. Instead, they chose to defend the last of Great Shun's glory and resolutely fought against the Great Xi army.
That battle caused the sky to change color and the sun and moon to dim.
According to the survivors' recollections, the sunset on that day was exceptionally beautiful and red like blood. Countless corpses covered the gray earth like wheat, creating an eerie and terrifying scene.
Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
The Great Shun army didn't have it easy either. Apart from the 10,000 soldiers who surrendered, the rest died in battle. The Great Xi army didn't have it easy either. Not only did most of the new recruits die, but 15,000 of the 120,000 elites died in battle.
Both sides suffered heavy casualties!
"Fortunately, we still won!"
Standing on the hellish battlefield, Zhang Xianzhong felt a lingering fear, and his face glowed brightly.
Defeating the remnants of the Great Shun army was a milestone victory for the Great Xi Kingdom. From now on, the Great Xi army would be invincible in Shaanxi and even Shanxi.
With two provinces and the foundation of the Great Xi Kingdom, Shu, a new dynasty was beginning to take shape. Zhang Xianzhong stood at a new starting point and was full of ambition.
"Unifying the world is no longer an extravagant hope!" Zhang Xianzhong was full of confidence.
… …
The news that the remnants of the Great Shun army had been completely wiped out quickly spread throughout the northern region.
When Dorgon received this news, he realized that the time for the Qing army to attack had arrived. Azig and the other Manchurian generals all rubbed their palms together.
A major battle was about to take place.
When Li Jing received this news, he regretfully shook his head. The remnants of the Great Shun army could have walked on a smooth path and completed the magnificent feat that their leader, the Roaming King Li Zicheng, had never been able to accomplish – defeating the Qing army.
However, because of their stubbornness, they ended up getting caught in their own trap.
At the same time, Li Jing realized that the Qing army's full-scale attack was just around the corner. With Dorgon's craftiness, he would definitely leave the Great Xi army to the side and focus on dealing with the Middle and Eastern armies.
The Qing army was very familiar with the tactic of breaking them down one by one.
Given Zhang Xianzhong's nature, as long as the Qing army did not take the initiative to attack Shaanxi, the Great Western Army would be happy to be at ease and would definitely not choose to take the initiative to attack as he had promised Ouyang Shuo.
Short-sightedness was a common weakness of the Revolutionary Army. To Zhang Xianzhong, the most important thing now was to bring Shaanxi and Shanxi under the rule of the Great Xi Country.
Without the reinforcements from the Great Western Army, the reorganized Central Army had 120,000 soldiers and the Eastern Army had 150,000 soldiers. With 270,000 soldiers fighting against 550,000 Qing soldiers, the pressure was indeed great.
Fortunately, Li Jing's resistance to pressure was extraordinary.
…
On the thirtieth day of the campaign, the Qing army finally moved out.
Regent Dorgon personally led 250,000 Qing troops to attack the central army led by Li Jing. Azig and Di Chen also led 250,000 troops to welcome Guo Ziyi's troops.
There were only fifty thousand Qing troops left to guard Yanjing.
The two armies left Yan Jin at the same time, like two giant arrowheads, piercing the land of the Central Plains. The biggest battle of the Battle of Qing Mie Ming had officially begun.
Not long after the Qing army attacked, an unforeseen event occurred in Shanhai Pass.
…
In fact, a few days ago, the Great Xia Royal Fleet had already entered the Bohai Sea. The fleet had been drifting on the sea for a few days and had not really approached Shanhai Pass.
That was because Ouyang Shuo was waiting.
Only when the Qing army left Yan Jin and attacked Shanhai Pass would it be effective.
Early in the morning, the sun rose from the east. The orange sunlight shone on the surface of the sea, sparkling like a golden ocean. It was dazzling. The sea breeze blew, and the flags fluttered.
Shanhai Pass had the reputation of being the best pass in the world, so it was naturally not simple.
Other than the main city, Shanhai Pass, it was adjacent to the Bohai Sea to the south, Beiyi City to the north, Dongluo City to the east, and Xiluo City to the west.
Even near the Bohai Sea, there was a South Wing City that extended directly to the sea.
The target of the fleet's attack was South Wing City.
Ever since the Qing army entered the pass, Wu Sangui's troops had tactfully evacuated the pass and left it to the Qing army to station. In the beginning, Dorgon had arranged for a total of 30,000 troops to guard the pass.
It was to guard the hub of the Qing army's retreat.
When the Qing army took over Yan Jin, the garrison was reduced to 20,000. Then, the Qing army attacked Great Shun and urgently needed more troops. Another 10,000 were transferred away, reducing the garrison at Shanhai Pass to 10,000.
Even so, Dorgon didn't think it was inappropriate.
When the Qing Dynasty moved the capital to Yan Jin, the strategic position of Shanhai Pass was reduced to its lowest point in history. When Dorgon gathered his troops to Yan Jin, the garrison at Shanhai Pass was less than 8,000, and they were no longer elite troops.
No matter how tight the defense of such a pass was, it would be difficult for the Royal Fleet to defend it.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! "
With the uniform sound of cannons, the attack on the pass began. The six-meter-tall city wall couldn't withstand a single blow from the fierce cannons and collapsed.
"Kill!"
Under the leadership of Xu Chu, the 3,000 Divine Guards boarded the Scarlet Horse Boats and quickly charged to the shore.
The Shanhai Pass, which was suddenly attacked, couldn't resist at all and retreated in defeat. In front of the Divine Guards who were like killing gods, they couldn't organize a decent defense line.
In less than an hour and a half, South Wing City was declared to have fallen.
Seeing this, more than 15,000 gunmen from the Royal Fleet disembarked and cooperated with the Divine Guards to attack the main pass. In order to destroy the thick city wall, the Royal Fleet even transported cannons to the shore.
The P1 cannons of the Great Xia Royal Fleet were even more powerful than the Red Barbarian Cannons.
"Whoosh ~ ~ ~"
After half an hour of continuous bombardment, a big hole was finally blasted in the thick city gate, and the pass was declared to have fallen. The Qing Army was good at using the Red Barbarian Cannons to open the way, and the Great Xia Army was naturally familiar with it.
As the saying went, "Give them a taste of their own medicine."
"Kill!"
The battle of South Wing City was just a warm-up for the Divine Guards. Only the 5,000 Qing soldiers stationed at the pass piqued their interest, and their killing intent rose.
Seeing that the enemy was unstoppable, the Qing soldiers stationed at the pass tried to surrender.
However, Ouyang Shuo was fighting a surprise attack, and he needed to fight on the move. Furthermore, he was on the battle map, so he didn't have the mood to deal with the prisoners of war.
"Leave no one alive!"
The Divine Guards executed Ouyang Shuo's order very well. By four o 'clock in the afternoon, not only the main pass, but also North and South Wing City, as well as East and West Luo City, had fallen.
None of the 8,000 Qing soldiers stationed at Shanhai Pass were spared.
After conquering Shanhai Pass, the Divine Guards didn't stop at all. Under Ouyang Shuo's personal leadership, they continued north and entered the old territory of the Qing Dynasty, preparing to start a massacre.
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