The moment Dorgon heard it, he could hardly believe his ears.
How could it be so sudden?
The subordinate, his face still smeared with blood, said, "Reporting to the Regent, the Han people.. the Han people have produced new firearms!"
Dorgon's heart sank; this was the news he least wanted to hear.
Previously, he had been sending people to closely monitor the movements of the Ming Army, especially the Jinyi Guard led by the Emperor of Ming.
Since the Ming Army had not used new firearms when attacking Guangwu and Shanyin, he had felt somewhat relieved, thinking that the Ming Kingdom's firearms were likely only what he saw now.
He never expected that the opponent was hiding such depth, only bringing it out now.
Nowadays, Dorgon knows very little about the new firearms; he only knows that it is a new type of firearm with a very long range, approximately six or seven hundred paces, whereas their bows and firearms have a maximum range of only about a hundred paces.
The gap was simply too large; the opponent could kill their archers and firelockmen without even needing to enter their effective range.
Dorgon decided decisively and said, "Immediately arrange for men to charge from both sides of the mountain peak!"
Since they couldn't match the enemy's range, they had no choice but to engage in close-quarters combat. Currently, a long stretch of the gorge was covered in massive boulders and thick logs, making it difficult for a Swarm of Bees to enter, there were no good positions to deploy them.
With the advantage of the terrain, the two sides were barely at parity in strength.
Dorgon had known before that the Emperor of Ming was relatively soft-hearted; even though everyone said he was invincible in battle, in Dorgon's view, when it came to a real life-and-death struggle, this man would not be his match.
Because the opponent lacks the ruthlessness required, one who lacks ruthlessness cannot be a good commander.
Now is the time when both sides must fight with their lives on the line. As long as the Ming Army can be driven back, the impact of the fact that the enemy possesses superior firearms can be minimized.
There was no helping it; the consecutive defeats of the Qing Army over the past two years had caused many people to fear the firearms of the Ming Kingdom, Dorgon had to consider the impact brought by this fear.
Dorgon was currently stationed at the Xishan ramparts, he walked up to the beacon tower to gaze toward the Nankou Gorge from afar.
The soldiers under his command were indeed fearless of death, charging downward almost as if ignoring the enemy's firearms, while archers and firelockmen also worked hard to fire volleys from the hillside.
Now that the gorge had become even narrower, the Ming Army's shield formation was difficult to deploy, forcing them to abandon it.
However, the massive boulders they had pushed down earlier had now become a natural cover for the Ming Army. They only needed to take cover behind the boulders and use their shields to protect their other three sides; they had absolutely no fear of the Ming Army's firelockmen and archers.
After all, the ammunition used by the Qing Army's firearms was still lead bullets, whereas the Ming Army's firearms had long since been upgraded to gunpowder bullets.
The Ming Army hunkered down inside; one group consisted of archers and firelockmen using long-range firearms to kill them, while another group threw grenades out toward the exterior.
The opponent seemed determined to win through a sheer accumulation of firearms, showing no concern for attrition; wave after wave of grenades were thrown as if they were inexhaustible, the Qing Army was simply unable to approach within a hundred paces of the Ming Army.
Moreover, the Ming Army was not without archers, their archers also used Exploding Arrows.
Dorgon listened to the roaring sound and turned to ask, "The reinforcements for Dayukou, Xiaoyukou, Emao Kou.."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw thick smoke rising from the beacon towers of these locations.
There are no reinforcements left.
Such a thought flashed through Dorgon's mind.
The news from the beacon tower meant that they had also been attacked, that the attacks had occurred almost at the same time.
In that instant, Dorgon had only one thought: how did the Emperor of Ming dare?
However, the current situation proved that the Emperor of Ming's risky move was indeed effective; now, Pianlingkou was almost completely isolated and without aid.
Dorgon immediately gave the order, saying, "Notify Datong and Huairen to send troops here."
Fortunately, he had already made preparations. Even though he felt that holding Pianlingkou would not be difficult when analyzing the strength of both sides, the Emperor on the other side was simply too uncanny. What if he encountered some strange natural disaster then?
He always preferred to make preparations in advance and arrange everything properly.
It was just unexpected that the natural disaster did not occur, but instead, the other side produced even more powerful firearms.
Fortunately, Dorgon had made arrangements long ago and did not rely entirely on the reinforcements from places like Dayukou.
Because Huairen was closer, the reinforcements arrived even more promptly.
"What are you doing here?" Dorgon looked at the newcomer with some surprise.
The other man cupped his hands and said, "It was the Regent who ordered me to come and provide support."
The Regent being referred to by the other man was Jirgalang; in the daily affairs of the court, Dorgon's official title was the Imperial Uncle Regent.
Dorgon said nothing after hearing this, only saying, "It is well that you have come; go to the Dayukou and Xiaoyukou areas to provide support."
Yes.
After he left, a Meile E Zhen beside Dorgon said with some confusion, "Why would the Imperial Court send Wu Sangui?"
Dorgon rubbed the jade thumb ring on his thumb and said, "Wu Sangui is quite a capable commander; it is appropriate to have him come."
Wu Sangui had performed great service for the Qing Dynasty back then; if it hadn't been for him abandoning the defense of Shanhai Pass and leading the Qing army into the pass, it would not have been an easy task for the Qing Dynasty to occupy Beijing.
Therefore, it was Dorgon who made the decision back then to enfeoff Wu Sangui as the Prince of Pingxi.
However, since then, the Imperial Court did not place much importance on Wu Sangui, though they had once intended to have him attack Sichuan.
Unfortunately, the Ming Kingdom emerged later, advancing triumphantly in its conquest; let alone conquering Sichuan, the Qing Dynasty could not even hold Shaanxi.
Whether Shanxi can even be held at this time is a question in itself.
Of course, Jirgalang clearly had no good intentions when he sent Wu Sangui.
If Dorgon did not suffer a defeat, then Wu Sangui would be coming to steal the credit; if Dorgon did suffer a defeat, then Wu Sangui would be coming to kick him while he was down.
Especially if Wu Sangui won, the blow to Dorgon's prestige would be absolutely massive.
Dorgon pondered for a long while before saying, "Send someone to inform the Prince of Pingxi that the Ming Kingdom has acquired a new type of firearm."
"Your Highness?" The Meile E Zhen was somewhat surprised.
Dorgon waved his hand dismissively. "Go."
With a great enemy before them, it was no time for internal strife.
Moreover, regardless of victory or defeat, he is the Imperial Uncle Regent of the Qing Dynasty; Jirgalang felt it was naive to think Wu Sangui could pose any threat to him.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Come on, everyone, come on, whether it's Shang Kexi or Geng Jingzhong, it's the perfect time to deal with them all. Evil kitty sneers and licks its paws. jpg
Next update at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 243
Zhu Ci did not know the news of Wu Sangui's arrival at this moment, but he had already received news that Qing reinforcements were coming to Dayukou and Xiaoyukou.
He was not surprised by this; even with the poor intelligence from the Qing Army, they could still estimate that after his repeated splitting of his forces, neither side would likely have many men left.
Dorgon chose to have the reinforcements head to Dayukou first, with the intention of saving that side before proceeding to assist Pianlingkou.
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before saying, "Do you know who the people coming from there are? How many troops do they have?"
His subordinates did not know, but Fu had arranged for a man named Bai Zhuo to follow him; that man was almost exclusively responsible for maintaining contact with Jirgalang's side.
Bai Zhu cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to His Majesty, the Tartars have sent the Prince of Pingxi, Wu Sangui."
Zhu Ci frowned immediately upon hearing this; compared to the Qing Army, he had even less affection for those who turned their butcher knives against their own compatriots in exchange for wealth and honor.
Wu Sangui was the worst of them all; had he not led the Qing Army into the pass, Li Zicheng would not have been defeated so quickly.
At that time, the Later Jin did not yet have the ambition to unify the world; if it hadn't been for him, the Central Plains might have merely seen a change to another Han dynasty.
I wouldn't say the new dynasty would be much better, but at least it wouldn't cause massacres like this.
Therefore, upon hearing this name, Zhu Ci reflexively wanted to change his previous decision.
Before, he had thought that no matter who the Qing Army sent, if Dayukou and Xiaoyukou were difficult to take, he could set them aside for the time being.
After all, Pianlingkou is more important; as long as Pianlingkou is secured, capturing the remaining few will be only a matter of time.
As a result, he not only did not want to give up Dayukou and Xiaoyukou, but he even wanted to send more troops in that direction; at worst, he would just give up Emao Kou.
Fortunately, Zhu Ci still had his wits about him. After thinking deeply for a long time, he felt that attacking Dayukou and Xiaoyukou would not cause much of an issue.
To prevent his own likes and dislikes from affecting his judgment, he specifically called over Nie Wu, Captain Ding, others to analyze the situation.
Although the men he trained were all young generals, they were by no means lacking in analyzing the situation; at most, they simply lacked some experience in adapting to changes on the battlefield.
The generals below did not know why His Majesty had changed his mind again, but after careful consideration, they said, "Reporting to His Majesty, if Dayukou and Xiaoyukou can be taken, it will naturally be a good thing."
Before arriving, Jiang Quan had already scouted to find out who the leader sent by the Qing Army was, he had a vague idea as to why His Majesty had changed his mind. He spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, capturing Pianlingkou is only a matter of time. It would be better to have Captain Nie and Captain Ding lead troops to Dayukou and Xiaoyukou to provide reinforcements."
Looking at the current situation, Zhu Ci also felt that things at Pianlingkou were not particularly difficult.
Nie Wu and Ding Qi were both somewhat bewildered, they began to wonder in their hearts who exactly was coming from that direction.
After the meeting adjourned, Jiang Quan specifically called the two men aside and said subtly, "The person the Tartars sent this time is the Prince of Pingxi, Wu Sangui. This man is a rebel of Great Ming; if we can slay this scoundrel, it will surely serve as a warning to the world."
Nie Wu and Ding Qi had, in any case, spent some time in the imperial court; although the military didn't have that many intricacies for the time being, they weren't fools, having both passed the military service examination as the top scholar.
He immediately understood why the Emperor had suddenly changed his attitude, why even their own attitudes had changed—from trying their best to occupy both Xiaoyukou and Dayukou to trying their best to execute Wu Sangui.
Jiang Quan was very satisfied with their wit and patted both of their shoulders, saying, "To establish great merit and fame, this is the chance."
Nie Wu and Ding Qi nodded heavily, but the two of them were not overly reckless; they still had to be cautious when facing a famous general like Wu Sangui.
In reality, however, Wu Sangui no longer had the heart to fight.
He had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty back then because he saw that the Mandate of Heaven for the Great Ming had expired and he did not want to sink with that great ship, which was why he sought refuge with the Qing.
He simply never expected that the Great Ming, whose fate was thought to be sealed, would suddenly turn the tide and fight its way back from Jiangnan, while the once-unstoppable Qing Dynasty instead suffered one defeat after another.
Previously, they couldn't even hold Datong; that was only because the Imperial Uncle Regent, Dorgon, personally led his troops back to reclaim it.
Now that the Emperor of Ming is leading a personal expedition, the Qing Army, which had once threatened Yanmen Pass, seems to be showing signs of a continuous retreat.
Dorgon seemed to feel somewhat overwhelmed when facing that young, almost boyish, Emperor of Great Ming.
Especially since the Great Ming had produced new firearms again, Wu Sangui couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation.
The troops he currently leads are not Tartars, but are those he trained himself, serving as the foundation of his position and livelihood.
If the Qing Army truly proved to be an unbeatable opponent, he would likely have to consider other options.
However, even with his hesitations, Wu Sangui was still somewhat incensed when he learned that the Ming Kingdom had only sent two greenhorns to Xiaoyukou.
He had actually been underestimated, but that was fine. As long as he could repel the Ming Army in this battle, he would hold the initiative. Whether he stayed with the Qing Dynasty or defected to Great Ming, both sides would place more importance on him.