The sudden loss of Shanhai Pass was a huge blow to the Qing Dynasty.
"How could this be?"
They had just given up a large territory in the north, but they suddenly lost the only hub to the old land.
At this point, an official finally questioned Dorgon's plan. "Giving up the city and sacrificing a large number of people just to provoke the civil strife of the Southern Coalition Army. Is it worth it?"
"Isn't the price a bit too high?"
Shanhai Pass was the last line of defense in the hearts of the Manchus. With Shanhai Pass, they knew that even if they lost the war in the Central Plains, they could return to the old land and make a comeback.
Once Shanhai Pass was lost, the Qing Dynasty would have no way out.
Therefore, the fall of Shanhai Pass was mainly a psychological blow to the Qing Dynasty.
Dorgon learned of the fall of Shanhai Pass during the march. His subconscious reaction was that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks and it could rally the morale of the Qing Dynasty.
An army with no way out could often burst out with power that would amaze the world.
Before the expedition, many of the Qing soldiers did not understand why they were holed up in Yanjing. When the northern territories fell one by one, the army was full of resentment.
Even when they set off, the morale was not ideal.
The fall of Shanhai Pass was undoubtedly an opportunity. But the subsequent development was far beyond Dorgon's expectations, making all his plans go to waste.
…
On the 33rd day of the campaign, the Divine Guards successfully advanced into the old land of the Qing Dynasty.
The Divine Guards moved as fast as the wind and appeared and disappeared unpredictably. They appeared to the north of Shengjing for a while, and then to the west of Shengjing for a while, like a shadowless fox.
The damage they caused was also quite terrifying.
Special forces like the Divine Guards could easily sneak into the old land of the Qing Dynasty using special combat equipment such as hooks and claws to infiltrate the city.
It could even be said that the Divine Martial Guards could sneak into the city through their excellent disguise.
Once the Divine Guards entered the city, they would destroy the central key points, such as setting fire to the treasury, beheading the officials, or slaughtering the nobles. Any one of them was fatal.
For a moment, the people in the old land of the Qing Dynasty were in a panic.
The 3,000 Divine Guards were like a group of cold-hearted ghosts floating in the vast old land of the Qing Dynasty. They raised the scythe of the God of Death, wantonly harvesting lives and spreading fear.
"Quick, report to Yan Jin!"
When the surrounding cities suffered one after another, the officials who stayed behind in Shengjing could no longer hold on and asked for help from the imperial court in Yan Jin.
Since the Qing Dynasty moved the capital to Yanjing, the officials who stayed in Shengjing were basically unsuccessful people or people who were not trusted by Dorgon. Although they were left behind, they were actually marginalized.
Even so, Shengjing's position was unshakable.
Not because of anything else, but because the Manchurian Eight Banners old men living in Shengjing. Although they no longer meddled in the specific affairs of the imperial court, each old man, with a stamp of his foot, could shake the Qing Dynasty three times.
From this, one could imagine how the Manchurian court would react to the urgent report from Shengjing.
The fall of Shanhai Pass had already caused great waves in the imperial court. Shengjing's letter for help was like adding oil to the fire, pushing the dissatisfaction with Dorgon, which was originally caused by the fall of Shanhai Pass to a new peak.
The court was in an uproar.
This time, there was no lack of influential ministers in the wave of opposition against Dorgon. The royalists who maintained the legitimacy of Emperor Shunzhi took the opportunity to launch an attack, pointing their spear at Dorgon, who was at the peak of his power.
For a time, Dorgon, who was in the limelight, became the target of public criticism.
To make matters worse, not only did Dorgon lead his troops to the battle, but his trusted ministers, such as Ajige and others, also went with the army and were not in the imperial court.
In the face of increasingly fierce accusations, no heavyweight minister stood up to speak for Dorgon. Even if they were really Dorgon's trusted aides, they chose to protect themselves at this time and did not stand out.
The historical reckoning against Dorgon seemed to be staged ahead of time.
Fortunately, Emperor Shunzhi was still young and had not yet reached the age of being in charge, so he had no intention of really eradicating Dorgon's faction. Even so, it was necessary to punish them a little.
The imperial court ordered the expedition army to immediately stop moving south.
Compared with conquering the Southern Coalition Army, recovering Shanhai Pass and rescuing Shengjing were naturally more important.
When Dorgon received the imperial court's edict, his face was extremely gloomy. He realized that all this might be a trap of the enemy, whose purpose was to stop the Qing army from moving south.
As for the attack on him in the imperial court, it was also enough to arouse Dorgon's vigilance. Although Emperor Shunzhi appointed him as the regent, he was not willing to become a puppet emperor.
When the little emperor grew up, it would be time to show his fangs.
These were not the most important things. The most important thing was, in the face of the imperial court's edict, what should the Qing army do?
As the saying went, "When a general is outside, he must not obey the emperor's orders." Immediately, a general of the Eight Banners suggested to Dorgon to ignore the imperial court's edict and continue to move south. When the Southern Coalition Army was defeated, all the attacks would disappear.
"Your Highness, the enemy's small plot shows that they have a guilty conscience and do not dare to fight head-on with our army. The more it is so, the more we can't be fooled, "a general with sharp eyes said.
Hearing this, Dorgon was also a little tempted.
But after all, defying the imperial edict was not a small matter. Moreover, the number of officials who attacked Dorgon this time was very high, and their status was very high, which was rare.
Even as strong as Dorgon, if he did not deal with it properly, he might fail miserably.
If he disobeyed the imperial edict and went against the wind, there was no doubt that those who attacked him would have something to say, and it would confirm Dorgon's "disloyalty". If things really developed to that point, even if Dorgon led his troops to defeat the Southern Coalition Army and won a great victory, he would not be able to clear his name, and it would be difficult for him to escape destruction.
As an emperor, even if he did not personally govern, he could tolerate a defeat in a war, but he could not tolerate any officials challenging his authority and overriding the imperial power.
This was a very taboo.
Even if he did not consider this point, and only considered from a military point of view, the fall of Shanhai Pass and the old land of the Qing Dynasty would be plunged into the flames of war, these two things would greatly affect the morale of the army.
First, no one knew the number of active enemies in the old land of the Qing Dynasty. If it was a large army, they could go south through Shanhai Pass and directly attack Yan Jing.
Yan Jing only had 50,000 soldiers left to guard, which was quite dangerous.
If the base was not stable, how could the generals and soldiers at the front fight with peace of mind, especially the backbone of the Eight Banners Army and the Eight Banners Army, more than 90% of them were from Yan Jing.
In Yan Jing, there were their wives and children.
If Yan Jing was not stable, the morale of the army would not be stable.
"No!"
Dorgon resisted the temptation of "disobeying the imperial edict". Although the enemy's plot was simple and clear, Dorgon had no way to crack it, so he could only obediently give in.
"Since it is the imperial edict, and it involves the safety of Sheng Jing, we can't just sit back and do nothing. Pass down the order, the entire army will stop moving south for the time being and rest here. "
Dorgon was assessing how many troops should be sent back.
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