Luck Dehun knew when Nikan fell into a state of anxiety that this war was doomed.
The proud cavalry and archery had been beaten to pieces, and the Qing army had no advantage at all.
In this case, conserving strength is already the best choice.
After throwing away most of the Mongolian Eight Banners, Luck Dehun took nearly 30,000 elite Eight Banners and broke out directly.
As the saying goes, when surrounded by three barriers and there is a living gate, attacking at all costs is enough to get a way out.
Therefore, Luckard survived.
It's just that the price is a bit steep.
"After this battle, I am afraid that the Eight Banners will become disloyal."
Luck Dehun looked back and saw that there were still nearly 20,000 elite Manchu Banner disciples.
He ignored his sighs and rushed to Fengjing Mansion impatiently.
"His Majesty--"
In Fengjing City, Shunzhi was writing and practicing calligraphy, concentrating on his calligraphy.
The eunuchs and maids on the side did not dare to breathe, for fear of offending the emperor.
Suddenly, Tang Ruowang came panting. He held on to the door frame and blocked everyone away.
As the emperor's mentor and close friend, Tang Ruowang not only helped Shunzhi treat his illnesses and rescued many princes and princesses, but also provided great assistance when he was in charge.
More importantly, he is a Xiyi, so he is not inherently a threat.
In fact, Shunzhi was not afraid that he would cause trouble to the harem, and would have wanted him to stay in the harem if he were not forced by the rules.
Therefore, Tang Ruowang has great prestige in the harem, second only to the emperor and the queen mother.
"Is there any news?"
Shunzhi put down his pen and asked impatiently. His forehead was already full of fine sweat and his eyes were extremely dark circles.
"Failed."
Tang Ruowang looked at this disciple and sighed.
"Failed? How is it possible?"
Shunzhi was shocked, the brush in his hand froze on the paper, and he raised his head.
Unbelievable.
impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
It is really uncomfortable to collect elite soldiers from all over the country and get such a result.
In addition to the military defeat, the entire Fengjing Mansion will be in danger, and they will lose the land they have been operating for more than ten years.
Do you want to live such a homeless life?
How can he, the emperor, be safe at that time?
He didn't know how long it took before he gathered his thoughts and said, "Master Tang, let the cabinet ministers come over!"
"By the way, how many troops have returned?"
"The Mongolian Eight Banners were almost destroyed. Only ten thousand people escaped, while the Man Eight Banners still had about 20,000 people left."
Tang Ruowang said softly: "The coach, Prince Luck Dehun, is back, and Prince Nikan was killed in battle..."
What a sad loss for a great general.
Shunzhi felt like his heart was being pulled.
Among the new generation, Nikan is one of the best military talents. If he dies, it will be more uncomfortable than losing tens of thousands of Mongolian Eight Banners.
However, fortunately, the Mongolian Eight Banners had enough casualties so that the imperial court could continue to control Fengjing Mansion and avoid being overthrown.
Soon, all the cabinet members arrived.
With the deaths of Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou, the first assistants are now Manchu Sony, followed by Ning Wanwo, Mongolian Shuotun, and Deng Changchun (Han Banner).
Theoretically speaking, there are no Han people in the cabinet, only Han military flags.
After taking office, Shunzhi completely abandoned Xifu, Ganglin and others whom Dorgon trusted, and then appointed people he trusted.
As for the previous so-called meeting of kings and ministers to discuss government affairs, it was also abandoned, and the cabinet became the center of the court.
However, there was one more person in the cabinet at this time - Luck Dehun.
"Your Majesty, our army was defeated..."
Luck Dehun briefly described the war, and then said impatiently: "Now that Fengjing Mansion is in danger, the court should be prepared."
"Hey!" Sony looked helpless, taking over this mess, which really made him feel uncomfortable.
Faced with this desperate situation, he glanced at Emperor Shunzhi, then looked at his colleagues, and then said: "For the present, the only way is to abandon Fengjing Mansion and preserve the vitality of the imperial court for the future."
"It's relatively safe in the west of the lake. Our main force can withdraw here. When there are changes in the future, we can regain the territory."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated and the Mongolian Eight Banners, which they relied on for support, suffered a total loss. Even if some herders were forcibly recruited as soldiers, it would only delay the battle for a while.
Rather than wasting time, it is better to move away as soon as possible.
Even if the Ming army occupied Fengjing Mansion, they could not accumulate more troops, so they waited until they left before returning.
Although it is a bit embarrassing, it is the most time-saving and labor-saving method.
This is why Fan Wencheng asked for a way out back then.
"With all the Han military flags and Manchu military flags removed, and a large amount of food and supplies, it will not be easy for the Ming army to take root."
Ning Wanwo added: "In addition, we have to leave a back-up to monitor the actions of the Ming army at any time."
"Then let's go!"
Shunzhi was very helpless.
He looked at Luck Dehun with raised eyebrows: "How long will it take for the Ming army to arrive?"
"If you don't get lost, it will take about three days."
"You lead an army of 10,000 people and do your best to stop its progress and buy us time, five days, at least five days."
Shunzhi said in a deep voice.
"Yes!" Luckard responded in a deep voice. As a defeated general, he had no bargaining power at all.
Immediately, a large number of Manchu Eight Banners, Han Eight Banners, and some loyal Meng Eight Banners, nearly 20,000 families, got on the boat and were sent to Huxi.
As for the princes and nobles, they had already migrated away before the decisive battle.
Thanks to the military structure of the Eight Banners, the migration was carried out in an orderly manner and no one dared to resist.
There are also some Mongolian Eight Banners who were sent to the north to create the illusion of fleeing north. If possible, they can also feel the confluence of Huxi.
At this time, the Ming army had gained a lot.
After a day and night of gathering, the Ming army lost its fatigue and achieved all the gains.
Chen Dong also constantly inspected the military camp to calm the morale of the troops.
In a war, pre-war preparations are the most intense. If you are not careful, you can cause the camp to roar and cause chaos.
But at the same time, the post-war period is also very important.
Because there is a sense of energy in people's hearts. Once it is removed, it is difficult to gather it back together. Therefore, the morale and morale of the army must be gathered together.
We even have to find ways to boost morale to face the war that will continue later.
When he returned to the big tent with weak legs, several staff officers approached him, each holding an account book in their hands.
"Yesterday, our army lost 7,316 people in battle, 5,320 were seriously injured, more than 16,000 horses were broken, and 30,000 scimitars were broken..."
On the battlefield, even if a steel knife is used, the blade will be sharpened during the continuous cutting process and has to be discarded.
War horses are naturally like this. They are inherently more delicate than humans and have extremely poor cooling systems. After a battle that lasts for several hours, they are very easy to get injured.
Once a war horse is injured, even if it is rescued, it can only be retired and become a draft horse.
Therefore, at the end of an abnormal war, unless you win with a small number and defeat a large number of enemies, or easily defeat the enemy, you will fall into a state of anxiety, suffer huge casualties, and often cannot make ends meet.
For the grassland tribes, an ordinary scimitar may be the biggest inheritance of their family, and it will be gone when they die.
This also resulted in the very low death rate of the prairie cavalry. Once nothing could be done, they would immediately retreat.
"Nearly 30% was reimbursed?"
Chen Dong rubbed his temples.
This battle cost more than imagined.
Especially the war horses, there were so many casualties, which made people feel sad.
You should know that an ordinary war horse sells for nearly a hundred yuan.
Just these 16,000 war horses cost two million silver coins, several years of manpower, material resources, and time.
For the simplest robe, if it is stained with blood by more than 100,000 people, it will inevitably be damaged. Especially in a fierce fight, it will not last long at all.
The robes, shoes, trousers, socks, shirts, etc. of one hundred thousand people are equivalent to hundreds of thousands of silver coins.
Conservative estimates indicate that the Ming Dynasty directly lost nearly 6 million silver dollars in this battle involving more than 200,000 people.
Of course, if we count the continuous grain transportation projects in the past two years regardless of losses, this number will double or triple.
"How about seizure?"
"General, we captured 30,000 cavalrymen, killed 30,000 to 40,000, and about 30,000 escaped."
"As for the war horses, there are about 50,000 of them, countless cattle and sheep, as well as more than 100,000 stones of grain and grass, as well as corresponding weapons and armors..."
Hearing these words, Chen Dong breathed a sigh of relief.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were many people who knew how to fight, but those who fought at a loss would not be loved, but would be disliked by the people in the Ministry of War.
It is possible that the words of those civil servants in front of the emperor affected his future.
So many war horses were enough to make up for the losses.
Moreover, if you go to Fengjing Mansion, you will probably make a lot of money directly.
"How many people are there in Fengjing Mansion?"
A staff officer said: "The Tatars don't know the details, but they have a general understanding that there are three cities in Fengjing Prefecture and a large number of castles, which is initially estimated to be no less than 300,000."
"And to be able to provide an army of more than 100,000 people, even according to the standard of one out of three people on the grassland, Fengjing Mansion, including Manchus, Hans, and Mongols, has about a million."
"Millions of people." Chen Dong pondered: "Even if there are many Mongolians grazing, it is not a small number."
"It seems that the Jurchens, who have reproduced for many years, have recovered 80% of their vitality."
"We really can't tolerate it any longer."
"Regulate the army, let the vanguard advance, the target is Fengjing City——"
The huge Fengjing Prefecture has millions of people. This is a prefecture, or even a province.
Moreover, it can be used for farming and grazing. For the emperor who always likes great achievements, this is the perfect gift.
Without a sufficient population, this area will not be important enough.
"I hope the Qing Dynasty won't run away too much, otherwise there will be no one to farm..."
Chen Dong murmured, his eyes getting brighter and brighter.
As for himself, in order to avoid his death struggle, it would be better to leave a large force to protect the food route. As long as the food is sufficient, Fengjing Mansion will have it in his pocket.
…
At this time, Horqin Grassland.
As Oboi sat on his horse, he felt the sun getting brighter and brighter in the sky, which seemed to be emitting a stream of heat.
Unknowingly, it has been more than twenty days since he arrived here.
From the wide opening of the door in Horqin Grassland to the unfamiliar vigilance at this time, he was already exhausted.
Once he raided the tribe's cattle and sheep, the Ming army came to help.
As a result, in just a few days, many tribes who were originally friendly to him were no longer friendly, causing the army to become increasingly short of food and grass.
In this way, we can only continue to sneak attacks on the tribe to obtain food and grass.
There are fewer tribes that are friendly to them, and more and more hostile tribes.
After going back and forth like this, no matter how slow he is, he still understands the reason.
But there is no way, they are always short of food.
Just like drinking poison to quench thirst, you have to do it.
"General Obai, we only have three days of food."
Heta looked at Obai, who had a strong back and a strong back, and his heart was filled with regret.
This guy constantly used the prestige of his prince to consume the trust of the major tribes, and succeeded in attacking, thereby obtaining military rations.
Since these days, only a few tribes have been willing to donate some cattle and sheep, and the rest have to protect themselves.
Even in order to guard against the Qing army, tribes of all sizes implemented the beacon system.
Once they encountered the Qing army, they would immediately light up the smoke to let the Ming army know its location and launch an attack.
It can be said that the Horqin Grassland has been conquered by the Ming army, at least in terms of their stance against the Qing army.
"It would be better if I stayed in Dalai Lake (Hulun Lake), but I really shouldn't come here."
Heta looked ugly.
"The current plan can only be withdrawn." Obai was not a fool. He knew that he couldn't do it, so he chose to retreat.
The tens of thousands of cavalry under his command cannot be left here.
Suddenly, a thick plume of black and gray smoke ignited in the sky, shooting straight into the sky.
"Not good, there are enemy troops in the wolf smoke -"
Heta was shocked: "Who the hell reported the letter——"
"Let's go -" Obai waved his riding whip and said angrily: "Before the Ming army arrives, I will kill these spies."
The army had not marched for a few miles when suddenly there was a sound of horse hoofbeats. The sound was so loud that it seemed to be louder than the entire grassland.
Obai was shocked. The main force of the Ming army was coming?
Sure enough, not long after, 50,000 to 60,000 cavalry appeared on the horizon, like a black line, stretching as far as the eye could see. Their scale was extremely huge.
"Thunder bang bang", arrows shot from the air like locusts.
In less than a moment, the army surrounded their temporary camp.
You Shilu rode his horse and looked at the group of Qing troops in front of him. He couldn't help but sigh: "After struggling for so long, I finally found your traces."
In order to find their traces, the Ming army directed a large number of Mongolian herdsmen to wander around.
According to common sense, there are not many water sources that can supply tens of thousands of troops, but Horqin cannot be without water. Even if it is checked one by one, it will take a long time.
In the last two places, I finally found it.
Obai frowned, his eyes were round and bloodshot, as if they could kill people.
"Charge through!" Obai made a decisive decision and shouted, turning his horse to the right, and all the troops galloped to follow him.
Obviously, this is not the time for a hard fight, conserving strength is the right way to go.
"It's not that easy to leave."
You Shilu sneered and waved his hand.
Suddenly, the bugle sounded loudly, and tens of thousands of cavalry galloped away, like a bloody mouth, trying to swallow up this Qing army.