Azig made the final decision. He turned around and said: "Hauge, you and I will take it down together. Take Yanmen Pass first to block the two Ming armies. As for Nikan, you are wandering outside Datong and don't let Jiang Yu come out."
"Yes -" the two of them agreed.
The situation in Shanxi was different for the Qing army.
First of all, what they faced was not the elite Beijing camp, but the former Shanxi Ming army.
For this kind of Ming army, the Qing army can be said to be invincible. Except for the difficulty of conquering the city of Datong, the field battles are basically unfavorable.
As for Taiyuan in the south, as long as Yanmen Pass is captured and the two Ming armies are unable to support each other, it will be considered a great success.
When the time comes, divide and fight, easily eliminating the disadvantage of having fewer soldiers.
In a few words, the tactics were formulated.
The united Qing army finally regained its previous momentum and marched forward indomitably.
It is their common wish to protect the victory achieved through customs entry.
…
In Zhangde Prefecture, Luck Dehun led five thousand soldiers and horses of the Zhenghong Banner to confront the Ming army on the banks of the Zhang River.
This is an elite man whom he obtained after begging his grandfather for a long time. He has great ambitions to make great achievements and wash away his shame.
Chen Yongfu led 20,000 people and set up camp to confront them.
Although there were more soldiers and horses, without firearms, it was difficult for the Ming army to fight in vain, and they could only camp step by step.
Obviously, this is a war of attrition.
Chen Yongfu made no secret of his behavior.
He knew that the Qing army did not have enough troops, so even if it wanted to attack the grain road, it would have to divide its forces.
And once the Qing army divides its forces, he will go north without any scruples and capture Zhangde Mansion.
If the Qing army can only confront each other like this, it is purely a waste of strength. The Ming army has several prefectures in Henan, as well as the two prefectures of Weihui and Huaiqing on the north bank of the Yellow River, so the supply of supplies is sufficient.
As a result, Luck Dehun was in a dilemma.
Can't advance, can't retreat.
They can only confront each other in Zhangde Mansion.
It can be said that in the face of Chen Yongfu's cunningness, he has too little experience in acting on his own.
…
There was no good news on the three fronts, which made Dorgon not confident.
He had to find Daishan, who was already seriously ill, and seek help.
Daishan was lying on the bed, with several maids serving him. His face was pale, and the root causes of the disease from the past battles had broken out, making him miserable.
When Dorgon came, he couldn't help but be shocked when he saw such miserable conditions.
Immediately, he felt the same and seemed to be aware of what he would look like in the future, and his mood became increasingly depressed.
"Ahem, the regent is here."
Daishan squinted his eyes, and when he saw Dorgon approaching, he couldn't help but ask someone to prop up his back and half lie down: "You guys go down!"
The maids retreated, leaving only two people in the room.
"Has the situation reached this point?"
Daishan said in a deep voice.
"Since Duduo's death, the imperial court's momentum has declined sharply and is no longer what it was before entering the Pass."
Dorgon sat down and showed a complex and sad face: "These days, I asked someone to calculate it. Since the first year of Shunzhi, the Qing Dynasty has lost tens of thousands of elite soldiers, while the Eight Banners of Manchuria have lost 15,000.
people."
"The flag is white, the flag is blue, and the flag is red. It's almost half disabled. It won't recover within three to five years."
In the military-civilian system implemented by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Niu Lu represented both the military and civilian households.
From each household under the Eight Banners, one man would be drafted as a soldier. If there was a death or injury, another man from the household would be drafted.
After the father dies, the son succeeds, and the elder brother succeeds the younger brother.
But how can new recruits compare to veterans?
Before entering the customs, there were about 50,000 Manchurian Eight Banners troops. Forty thousand people entered the customs, leaving less than 10,000 people in Liaodong to suppress the rear.
The people of Sauron, who gave birth to girls, also need to be suppressed.
Of the 40,000 Manchurian Eight Banners, there are now 15,000 less and 30% more.
The recruitment of new recruits is not strong, and many of the military personnel have been cut, with the number being slightly less than 40,000.
After all, even if you only have daughters, you may also have few sons.
Although the number of people has only decreased a little, the combat effectiveness is hugely different.
After several years of fighting, you can become a sparring partner, but time waits for no one.
There was too little time left for the Manchus.
"Fifteen thousand people?"
When Daishan heard this, his pale face turned even pale.
"This is the amount that the late emperor has never accumulated in all his years."
Dorgon sighed: "Shanxi and Henan are delayed, and Shandong is in danger. As long as one of these three roads is broken, Beijing will be in danger."
"When the time comes to endanger Gyeonggi, the other two groups will also be defeated..."
"What do you mean?"
Daishan raised his head and looked at Dorgon with a bad tone.
He knew that Dorgon was not to blame for this matter, after all, he was not the one leading the troops in the battle.
But who made him the regent and deputy emperor?
He must bear at least half of all the blame.
"I don't care about those civil servants in the court. They are just talking."
Dorgon said softly: "But the people among the Eight Banners are unstable. Many people are clamoring to return to the outside world from time to time, saying that the south is not the world of the banner people..."
"I want to know what the regent means?"
Daishan emphasized again.
"I mean!"
Dorgon showed a look of pain: "To preserve our vitality, we can only retreat outside the customs."
“It’s pretty good outside the customs.”
Dai Shan suddenly said: "Since we fell in Beijing and there was not enough food to eat, many of the Eight Banners have also imitated the Han people, speaking in Chinese, and have forgotten many of the fighting skills passed down by their ancestors."
"Being leisurely and comfortable, enjoying the glory and wealth, I think in a few decades, I'm afraid there won't even be people who can talk good about us."
Seeing that Dorgon was still confused, Daishan said in a deep voice: "In my opinion, it is too early to withdraw everyone outside the customs. You can withdraw the family members first and let the soldiers focus on fighting."
"If the situation changes in the future, it won't be a waste to withdraw."
"Okay -" Dorgon smiled: "In addition, you can also transport the goods away first to save yourself from embarrassment later."
With Daishan's support, Dorgon was in a much better mood.
…
News of another war between the Ming and Qing Dynasties also reached Pidao.
Not long after he returned from recruiting troops, Li Yingren was preparing to train his troops aggressively. When he wanted to avenge his shame, suddenly a decree came from the court.
Let him lead the troops and horses ashore from Deng Lai, sweep across Shandong, meet up with Li Jizu in Jinan, and march together to Shandong Province.
"Dengzhou Mansion?" Li Yingren was shocked.
Of course, he didn't know that the emperor initially planned for him to land in Tianjin and threaten Beijing.
But Beijing at this time was not Beijing more than two hundred years later. Dorgon was not easily scared, and the Tianjin landing battle was very ineffective.
Therefore, going to Shandong became inevitable.
"We are considered a secret agent, and the Qing army must not know about it."
Wenxi shook his head and praised profusely.
Li Yingren smiled bitterly and shook his head. This miscellaneous soldier could only die.