The number of reinforcements sent depended on how many enemies were active in the old land of the Qing Dynasty. If there were too few reinforcements, it wouldn't help, but if there were too many, it would affect the main battlefield.
But Dorgon couldn't be sure of the number of enemies attacking the old land of the Qing Dynasty.
The report from Shengjing only said that the enemies appeared and disappeared mysteriously. Within a day, at most three cities were attacked. It was impossible to calculate the number of enemies, but a conservative estimate was more than 50,000 people.
"Moreover, they are all elite troops." The official who stayed behind in Shengjing solemnly vowed.
Although they hadn't seen the Divine Guards, it didn't stop them from exaggerating. Otherwise, they would seem incompetent!
Besides, it was impossible to calculate, so they weren't exaggerating.
"50,000 elites?"
If Di Chen was with Dorgon, he would definitely see through this lie. With the strength of the southern allied forces, especially the Mutant Army, it was impossible to send 50,000 people north.
But Dorgon couldn't make such a judgment.
According to common sense, to take Shanhai Pass in less than a day, wipe out 8,000 defending troops, and create such a big movement in the old land of the Qing Dynasty, 50,000 elites was not a lot.
"This is troublesome!"
Based on the 50,000 enemies, to take back Shanhai Pass, enter deep into the old land, and defeat the enemies, a conservative estimate would be to send 150,000 soldiers.
There were only 50,000 Qing troops left in Yan Jing, and not all of them could go north.
This meant that at least 130,000 troops would be sent north, leaving only 370,000 troops on the main battlefield. Compared to the 330,000 troops of the southern allied forces, they didn't have an obvious advantage.
It was wishful thinking to defeat the southern allied forces with such a force. Dorgon wasn't arrogant. The enemy's Mutant Army could defeat the Duoduo Tribe, so it must be extraordinary.
After thinking about it, Dorgon could only make a compromise.
From the two armies, 70,000 troops would be sent north to join the 40,000 troops left in Yan Jing, forming an army of 180,000 to attack Shanhai Pass.
With the absolute advantage in numbers, they would try to solve the "back garden problem" within a week.
As for the main battlefield, the two armies of the Qing Dynasty stopped moving south and reorganized. They would make plans after the northern army took back Shanhai Pass.
Dorgon was very confident that they could hold their ground.
Strictly speaking, there was nothing wrong with Dorgon's arrangement. When Di Chen got the news, his heart trembled, and he felt a little uneasy.
Di Chen felt that things were not so simple.
…
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
One hundred and forty thousand Qing troops had already returned to Yanjing. After joining up with the forty thousand troops left behind to guard Yanjing, they headed north to the Shanhai Pass. If everything went well, they would be able to reach the border early the next morning.
The Southern Ming camp was in charge of guarding Shanhai Pass. The Royal Fleet consisted of 15,000 gunmen and 12,000 saber and shield soldiers.
There were also more than a hundred P1 Cannons assisting the army in defending the checkpoint.
With such a defensive formation, even if the Qing army mobilized 180,000 soldiers, they would still be able to defend Shanhai Pass for more than three days. From this, it could be seen that Ouyang Shuo had utilized the Southern Ming Empire's resources to the extreme in this battle.
Even so, according to the current progress, it would only take the Qing army in the north to complete the mission set by Dorgon a little longer than the expected one week.
Fundamentally speaking, it did not affect the overall situation.
The problem was that the following development of the situation was simply a nightmare for the Qing army. In the short span of less than a week, the originally favorable situation had been reversed by a hundred and eighty degrees.
The change occurred in a direction that Dorgon had neglected — the State of Da Xi.
According to Dorgon's judgment, as long as the Qing army did not take the initiative to attack, the State of Da Xi would definitely be content with the status quo and obediently stay in Shaanxi and Shanxi.
This was a very correct judgment.
The premise was that there was no secret letter from Ouyang Shuo to Zhang Xianzhong.
"There is no limit to human greed."
Taking over Xi 'an, wiping out the rest of the Great Shun army, occupying the entire Shaanxi Province, and about to take over the entire Shanxi Province was already a great victory for Zhang Xianzhong and the State of Da Xi.
It was enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives.
Fortunately, Zhang Xianzhong had the ambition of "unifying the world" and once again fell into Ouyang Shuo's trap. Ouyang Shuo's plan was actually very simple and worthless.
He only said to Zhang Xianzhong, "There will be a military gap in Yan Jin, and the defense of the city will be unprecedentedly weak. If you really want to unify the world, you must take over Yan Jin. This rare gap is the only opportunity for the State of Da Xi. If you miss it, you can only settle for a corner. "
Zhang Xianzhong was naturally skeptical when he heard Ouyang Shuo's words. Given his life experience, he could not imagine that there would be people in this world who did good deeds without asking for anything in return.
The Southern Coalition Army had put in a lot of effort to restrain the Qing army on the main battlefield and capture the Shanhai Pass to attract the attention of the Qing army in Yan Jin. It was not easy for them to create an opening, but they let the State of Da Xi reap the benefits?
"This doesn't make sense!"
Although Zhang Xianzhong was skeptical, he still fell into the trap. It was better to believe that there was such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky than to believe that there was no such thing.
On the surface, Zhang Xianzhong did not directly answer Ouyang Shuo. In fact, he was secretly gathering the Da Xi army and deploying them near Yan Jin.
If Yan Jin was really empty, Zhang Xianzhong would not hesitate.
Just as Ouyang Shuo said, whether it was in terms of influence or other aspects, taking over Yan Jin was irreplaceable for a regime that aimed to unify the world.
Zhang Xianzhong could not resist this temptation.
On the thirty-ninth day of the campaign, not long after the 180,000 Qing soldiers left Yan Jin, the 120,000 soldiers of the Great Western Army charged into Yan Jin.
As one of the most famous leaders of the peasant revolts at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Xianzhong had never lacked the courage to take a gamble at a crucial moment. As long as he could take Yan Jin, Zhang Xianzhong was not afraid of blocking the fate of the State of Da Xi.
Even if Yan Jin was the mightiest city in the world, it would still be in danger when faced with an enemy army twelve times its size.
The 120,000 soldiers of the Great Western Army did not rest after arriving on the outskirts of Yan Jin. They attacked through the night, determined to take the city in the shortest amount of time possible.
Zhang Xianzhong was brimming with confidence.
When Dorgon received the request for help from Yan Jin, his heart thumped, and for the first time, his face paled. He was no longer as composed as he usually was.
"So this is the true trump card of the enemy?"
The actions of the Southern Coalition Army had completely surpassed Dorgon's expectations and completely disrupted his plans. This meant that Dorgon had been led by the nose by Ouyang Shuo the entire time.
Ouyang Shuo's series of battle plans were closely linked. Each step seemed casual and lacking in killing intent, but when put together, they could shake the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.
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