But it must be said that, as Dorgon's political enemy, Jirgalang indeed understood him very well.
Dorgon had attempted to raid the camp several times, even heading straight for the firearms storage area every single time, knowing that the Great Ming's firearms posed a great threat, Jirgalang had also made special arrangements in this area.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Dorgon no longer attempted sneak attacks, turning instead to a defensive stance.
Zhu Ci began to try every possible way to unsettle the enemy's morale, including but not limited to arranging for people to bang gongs and drums in the middle of the night, shouting things like "The Qing Dynasty's mandate is at an end" or "Dorgon is mortally wounded and cannot be cured" outside.
It was unscrupulous, but it was indeed effective.
As for the people of Changping City.. I'm sorry, but you'll have to endure it for a little while longer.
However, Zhu Ci felt that he had perhaps still underestimated Dorgon's prestige within the Qing Army.
Even though he had been defeated by his own hands two or three times, even though his injuries might not have healed, the morale of the Qing Army had not decreased much, they remained fearless in the face of death.
However, Zhu Ci did not care whether their morale would decrease; his goal was to ensure the Qing Army could not sleep peacefully, for once they were sleep-deprived, their combat effectiveness would naturally decline.
He even released a few hot air balloons from time to time, though they naturally contained no bombs.
However, Dorgon certainly wouldn't dare let those hot air balloons drift past.
Zhu Ci knew there were no bombs attached to them, but did Dorgon dare to take that risk?
He didn't dare, so he was still going to arrange for someone to deal with this specifically.
"What is Dorgon waiting for?" Zhu Ci asked softly, looking at the sand table.
He is waiting for the Qing Army to be exhausted and their horses to tire; what is Dorgon waiting for?
Dorgon should be very aware that continuing to defend like this is useless; even a defensive counterattack needs an opportunity to strike, after the counterattack, it must yield corresponding results.
Dorgon had already launched a counterattack once, but it had been ineffective, now he was still being constantly harassed.
Most importantly, after the harassment, Dorgon seemed to have never taken any countermeasures, he did not even attempt another sneak attack.
Even so, he did not give up on defending the city; he was definitely waiting for something.
Zhu Ci looked at the situation before him; two days ago, Li Guo and the others had sent word that Baoding had already been captured, their next route would certainly be heading north straight for Beijing.
Beijing is currently being attacked from both sides; what else can he wait for?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I am waiting for reinforcements, what are you waiting for? An evil kitty stands on a horse's head, gazing into the distance. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM
Chapter 259
We wait for the Mongols," Jirgalang said. "There are still many people in the Khorchin Mongols who will not sit idly by.
Not to mention that the current Empress Dowager is of the Borjigit clan, both Dorgon's Primary Consort and Side Consort are also of the Borjigit clan, maintaining close ties with the Khorchin Mongols.
Although the Khorchin had sent people to assist when the Qing Army advanced southward before, they had not sent many.
Now that the Qing Dynasty has reached a critical moment of survival, the Khorchin Mongols have no choice but to arrange for more manpower.
Admittedly, the Khorchin Mongols would not risk their lives for a few daughters married into the Qing royal family, but the problem was that they had already offended the Ming Kingdom.
If the Qing Kingdom is defeated, will they be held accountable?
Even if they are not purged, the Khorchin Mongols gained enormous benefits from their marriage alliance with the Qing Dynasty; not only will they lose these benefits in the future, but they might also be forced to surrender all the advantages they previously gained.
The Han people's nations had always been extremely wary of nomadic peoples like them, but for whatever reason, they had to find a way to help the Qing Kingdom.
Zhu Ci asked thoughtfully, "Where do you think the Khorchin reinforcements will come from?"
The Khorchin grasslands are located further to the northeast; if they want to aid the Qing Army, there might be too many possible routes for them to take.
Zhu Ci's knowledge of the Khorchin was limited to knowing that the current Empress Dowager was of Khorchin origin, making them a new opponent.
Fortunately, Jirgalang and Dodo knew quite a bit about the Khorchin, they even suggested several routes to prove themselves.
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before looking up at Jirgalang and Dodo and asking, "Do you dare to go to Shanhai Pass?"
Jirgalang and Dodo were startled: "Does His Majesty intend to attack Shanhai Pass?"
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before saying, "It's not exactly an attack; the main goal is to block the Khorchin Mongols outside so they cannot provide timely reinforcements."
As long as the Khorchin Mongols do not come, the initiative of whether to attack or stall will be in Zhu Ci's hands; once the Khorchin Mongols arrive, it is not that they cannot be fought, but it will be much more troublesome.
Seeing Jirgalang and Dodo looking hesitant, Zhu Ci said, "If you go, I can assign you some Rapid-fire Guns and Hundred-Tiger Charging Rocket Wagons."
After he finished speaking, he explained further, "Long-range Matchlocks are mostly used for sniping; without professional training, it is difficult to use them well. However, there are currently too few marksmen, so I cannot give these to you."
Jirgalang and Dodo's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. With firearms, what was there left to fear?
One had to know that they had been eyeing the firearms of the Firearms Camp for a long time, but they had only just surrendered and had yet to achieve anything. Furthermore, for some unknown reason, although this Emperor before them was not young, they always felt a sense of pressure in Zhu Ci's presence.
No matter how gently the Emperor smiled, they were still somewhat on edge.
Due to the accumulation of multiple reasons, they did not dare to speak up; now that His Majesty was going to provide them with firearms, there was naturally no problem.
Even if not many firearms were given, as long as there were some, it would be enough.
The most important thing was that the Emperor did not show favoritism; the firearms allotted to the two of them were exactly the same.
After making the arrangements, Zhu Ci said, "I have already ordered that the military uniforms be rushed into production, but time is too tight. Please bear with it for now and wear your old ones."
Dodo's eyes darted around as he said, "Wearing the old ones is fine too; that way, if people from the Khorchin Mongols come, we might even be able to deceive them a little."
Zhu Ci nodded in satisfaction. Dodo and Dorgon were truly brothers; they were quite similar in certain aspects.
Although Jirgalang and Dodo were traveling to Shanhai Pass together, their routes did not overlap.
Before leaving, Zhu Ci even said, "Both of you are battle-hardened, capable generals. In terms of military strategy, I may not have as much experience as you two, so while you are out on campaign, as long as you both feel the timing is right, you may make decisive actions and report them later."
I am giving you this authority, but do not think you can hide anything from me.
Jirgalang and Dodo could now somewhat understand why the subjects of the Great Ming were so devoted to this Emperor.
He is truly a magnanimous and benevolent ruler.
Wait a moment.. a benevolent ruler?
Jirgalang and Dodo exchanged a glance, their expressions both somewhat strange.
They had always thought he was a bloodthirsty tyrant.
After Jirgalang and Dodo had left, Wang Chang asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, why give them firearms? What if they return to the Qing Army?"
Zhu Ci narrowed his eyes and said, "The two of them are not fools. Even if it were Dorgon, he could only adopt a defensive stance and wait for reinforcements right now. What use would they be if they returned? That amount of firearms cannot influence the overall situation, not to mention they had previously led troops to attack a city; given Dorgon's heavy suspicion, he would not believe them."
Dodo could not say for certain; Jirgalang knew Dorgon so well that he would surely understand how he would be treated upon returning to the Qing Court.
The retreat for these two has already been cut off; we might as well just let them go.
As long as they could truly block the Khorchin, it was only a matter of time before Dorgon abandoned Changping.
Just as Zhu Ci was waiting patiently for an opportunity, Wang Chang rushed in and said, "Your Majesty, it seems things are becoming chaotic in Changping."
Chaos? What kind of chaos?
Zhu Ci was full of questions. He immediately stood up, took a look through his binoculars, saw from a distance that the city walls were no longer as orderly as before; everyone seemed to be in a frantic state.
He observed cautiously for a while, fearing that this was a scheme by Dorgon, but after observing for a long time, the city walls only seemed to become even more chaotic.
Even if high-ranking generals came to maintain order, they could only barely manage to get all the soldiers back to their posts.
He immediately issued the command, "Pass the order down: attack the city!"
He did not know what was happening on the other side, but he felt that this was a great opportunity.
Even if it was Dorgon's scheme, he would accept it; after all, even if it was a scheme, it was nothing more than an attempt to lure them into attacking once.
For this reason, Zhu Ci even ordered that if anything went wrong, the troops were to withdraw immediately.
The more anxious Dorgon became for the Ming Army to attack the city, the more it showed he could not sit still; at this time, what Zhu Ci needed to do instead was to maintain stability.
It was already late at night, Zhu Ci feared that Wang Chang might misjudge the situation or that the higher-ups might refuse to withdraw the troops if they believed they could win, so he personally boarded the war chariot to supervise the battle.
The garrison was indeed caught off guard; once or twice, Great Ming soldiers had already managed to scale the city walls.
However, Dorgon soon appeared atop the city wall.
Zhu Ci faced him from a distance, at this moment, they were not that far apart, perhaps only about three hundred zhang.
At this distance, he could even clearly see Dorgon's facial features.
"Something must have gone wrong with the Tartars," Zhu Ci couldn't help but whisper.
Because at this time, Dorgon was not standing behind the shields as before, but was personally joining the fray to fight.
Therefore, he judged that the Qing Court was facing problems, very significant ones at that, to the point of shaking the soldiers' morale, which was why Dorgon was forced to take the field personally.
Zhu Ci narrowed his eyes, turned his head, said, "Order the front lines to feign defeat and slow their offensive, send the Marksmen to aim for Dorgon. Remember to provide cover for the Marksmen."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Forget it, no matter what problems the Tartars have, I'll take down Dorgon first! A heroic cat swipes its claws in attack. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock.
Chapter 260
At this distance, the accuracy of the Long-range Matchlock would be significantly reduced, but it was not impossible.
However, it would be very easy to accidentally hit his own men when aiming during a siege, so Zhu Ci wanted the forces in the front to slow their advance.
Stopping completely was impossible; once he stopped, Dorgon would certainly not linger on the city walls for long either.
How could he not know that he was in danger of being exposed? It was just that he had no choice at this moment; once the situation improved, he would certainly abandon it.
Zhu Ci's decision to have the Marksmen prepare was carefully considered; he simply felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
However, once the marksmen were in position, they discovered one thing: there were people both beside and behind Dorgon.
Unless it is a direct shot, anyone wanting to hit Dorgon would first have to pierce through the person beside him.
This distance was already nearly at the limit of the Long-range Matchlock; unless the bullet hit a vital spot, it would fail to kill, let alone penetrate a person's body.