Since Shunzhi came to power last year, he imprisoned Azig and Hauge successively and took control of the court in one fell swoop.
However, when the Qing Dynasty was in danger of life and death, unity was naturally the main focus within the Eight Banners. The historical purge was gone, and even Azig and Hauge were released one after another.
Originally, when faced with the Ming army's dispatch, the Manchu and Qing court focused on defense, extending the front line and dragging the Ming army to death.
But Chen Yongfu was too stubborn and implemented a step-by-step strategy.
Literally step by step.
He led the army to suppress the formation at the rear, allocated money, food and supplies, and then led the army with 20,000 to 30,000 people as the vanguard, constantly opening the way forward.
Every thirty or forty miles, a team of ten thousand people would build a wooden camp, complete with antlers and trenches, to wait for the rear to rest.
Thirty thousand people, three teams, no more than ten miles apart, covering each other, can build a camp in five or six days.
After the three camps are built, they will serve as each other's horns. The rear army will continue to transport supplies and rotate to the other three teams to develop.
In this way, even if the journey further north becomes difficult and full of difficulties, as long as the soldiers can eat well and drink hot water, their morale will not suffer too much.
After calculation, it was calculated that the time required to build the camp was an average of seven or eight miles per day. Changtu could be captured in ten days, and it only took about three months to reach the outside of Jilin City.
Even the slowest one will definitely reach Jilin City before the winter snow. If they speed up from time to time, it will be more likely.
In this way, the Ming army simply used force to overwhelm others and would never fight easily.
This feeling of slowly tightening the rope and being suffocated made Manqing feel extremely uncomfortable.
Defend? You definitely won’t be able to defend it.
Then the only option is to fight.
Moreover, it is still a fight based on preserving strength.
Fifty thousand cavalry were dispatched.
So despite the fact that Azig and Obai were so aggressive, they immediately gave in when they encountered the Ming army that was fully prepared.
Over the years, the Qing Dynasty suffered more defeats and fewer victories, and their morale had long been lost. They were timid before fighting. At least the Ming army was a tough guy and refused to change.
"The spies are indeed right. The three camps are the horns of each other."
Jierharang looked at the map and the news from the pioneers, and instantly felt a headache.
Even if it were a head-on confrontation, the Qing army would not be able to withstand such heavy losses, let alone attack the city.
The Wuzhenchaoha (artillery), which once showed great power in the Battle of Jinzhou, has declined due to losses over the years and the scarcity of gunpowder, and has become the last guarantee and remains in Jilin City.
But now, with the continuous spring rain, it is difficult for humans and animals to move, let alone artillery.
Therefore, facing these wooden camps, soaked by rain, damp and heavy, the Qing army had no choice but to suffer a headache.
Chen Yongfu guessed right. After years of war and the escape in Shenyang, although the Eight Banners' establishment was still there, its strength was greatly reduced.
The simplest item, armor coverage, is already less than 50%.
Although it is much stronger than the Mongols, compared with the Beijing camp, which has generally reached 95%, it seems not good enough.
Not enough arrows, not enough armor, not enough gunpowder, not enough doctors, not enough food and grass, not enough cloth...
The longer they stayed in Jilin, the more they realized the pain of the trade blockade. The Eight Banners nobles suddenly discovered that without the Eight Imperial Merchants, this life would not be life at all.
"The Ming army is very cautious." Luck Dehun suddenly opened the door curtain, bringing in a gust of cold wind.
There was wet mud on his leather boots, almost leaving traces of each step. Jierhalang felt distressed when he saw it. Just as he was about to speak, Azige and others also came over.
At this time, Jierhalang could only give up. He looked at a few people: "The Ming army is just as we thought, it will trap us alive."
"If they don't take action, they are only a hundred miles away from Changtu, and they may not be able to save it..."
"That's impossible to keep." Azig opened his mouth and sat down directly, sighing:
"In the past, if there were 10,000 people, they could last for two or three months. Now there are 50,000 or 60,000 people, and there are so many cavalry that they can't even support them for half a month."
"Your Majesty, now that we have sufficient troops and horses, we can allocate troops to harass them to build camps and delay their time."
Ao Bai couldn't help but speak out. He was born in Lianghuangqi and was Shunzhi's upright spy in the army.
He naturally knows a lot about this battle.
"Too."
Jierhalang glanced at Obai with a deep look, it seemed that the little emperor really dared to speak.
"We have no choice but to make this decision. We try our best to harass the soldiers and chop down the trees. If there is no other way, we will set them on fire. Don't let them succeed."
Soon, the Qing army's actions were effective.
The Ming army, which was always in a state of tension, slowed down twice as fast.
Seeing this, Chen Yongfu immediately gave up his step-by-step strategy and directly led the main army to confront each other under the city.
Now, it was the Qing army's turn.
The Ming army, which was full of momentum and taking turns to rest and recuperate, actually launched ten red-coated artillery pieces and aimed them directly at the city wall.
Obviously, the Ming army did not want to attack the city directly during the drizzle in early spring and lose morale in vain.
You have to know that the road to Jilin next is difficult to predict. I don’t know how much torture I will go through, so I’d better save more morale on the way.
Changtu City was originally an earthen city. Even if it was reinforced and covered with bricks, it could not compare to those majestic cities.
After only holding on for three days, a section of the city wall suddenly collapsed and the city had to fall.
The Qing army strangely escaped without making a single mistake.
"Wait, something doesn't feel right!"
Chen Yongfu stood on the city wall, looking at the Qing troops galloping away in the distance, and felt something was wrong.
"How long has it been since Jilin sent a letter?"
Suddenly, he remembered something and asked directly.
"It's been about ten days. It's hard to believe that the city was sealed off because the army was out for an expedition. Plus, Chang Tu blocked the route."
Wu Sangui couldn't help but said.
The group of internal collaborators also included his uncle Zu Dashou and his family.
"No -" Chen Yongfu's face was extremely ugly. He gritted his teeth and said word by word: "Jian Nu is trying to escape!"
Wu Sangui's expression changed drastically.
In the vast north, with endless forests and vast grasslands, no one knows where the boundaries are.
Jilin is already far enough in their eyes. If they go further north, they really won't be able to catch up.
So wouldn’t this costly Northern Expedition return in vain?
He looked at Chen Yongfu with a questioning look on his face.
Chen Yongfu's face was livid: "Even if they leave, those wild Jurchens, Sauron and other tribes will never escape. It is imperative to rebuild the Nurgan Dusi——"
…
At this time, the last huge team in Jilin City slowly headed west.
Shunzhi opened the car curtain and looked at the brand-new Jilin City with great reluctance.
Accompanying the road were the last batch of Han military documents and a large amount of supplies, which numbered more than 100,000 people and stretched for dozens of miles.
"Sir, is the Barguzin you mentioned really appropriate?"
Opposite him sat Ning Wanwo, who was on mission last year.