During the Ming Dynasty, it was one of the nine important towns with jurisdiction over eight guards, seven forts, and 583 forts.
It is located to the south of the Outer Great Wall and to the north of Yanmen Pass of the Inner Great Wall. Starting from the early Ming Dynasty, guard fields were set up here to serve as the northwest barrier of the capital. After the Tatars entered the pass, Datong Town also administered the Shahukou Association, Ningwu, Guihua and other 30
camp.
This is a time of great auspiciousness and joy in the New Year, but at this time in Datong, the important city on the nine sides, the roar of artillery replaced the sound of firecrackers.
The Qing army has been besieging the city for half a year.
The famous clan king Yue Le personally took command and mobilized more than 40,000 troops from Manchu, Han and Mongolian tribes, and many red cannons to bombard the city. However, after half a year of such a strong attack, the Qing army suffered countless casualties and failed to capture Datong.
However, the reason why Datong was able to defend Datong for so long was not only due to Jiang Quan's early preparation, reinforcement of city defenses, and vow to resist, but also to the strategy of the Qing army. After Yue Le took command and went out to fight, he first besieged Datong, tried several stormings, and found that the defenders were strong-willed.
After the city defense was strengthened, troops were sent to supervise the conscripted people and Zhuang dug ten trenches around Datong City to seal the siege.
Then more than 10,000 elite soldiers surrounded Datong, and the remaining troops split up to attack various places to respond to the rebels.
For example, Liu Qian and Langfang raised troops in Fanzhi and called themselves General Zuo. Later, they were awarded the title of General Soldier of Yanmen by the supervisory army. They captured Fanzhi and Wutai Mountain Zhang returned to Chu. Gao Shan also led the army to respond and surrendered to Liu Qian. Liu Qian
With more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, they returned to attack Daizhou. The Qing army divided and defended the road, and the rebels only captured Dongguan.
During the siege, Yue Le personally led his elite cavalry to arrive, marching 200 miles in a day, and killed Liu Qian by surprise. The rebel army was unprepared and suffered heavy casualties. Deputy Commander Langfang died in the battle. Liu Qian withdrew eastward from Fanzhi, but Yue Le
He led the Eight Banners in hot pursuit. Liu Qian was defeated again and again, and was finally surrounded and died in battle. Gao Shan led a group of troops to break through, but was soon overtaken and had to surrender.
Yue Le first accepted the surrender, and then trapped and killed all the thousands of surrendered troops.
At the beginning of Datong's uprising, people from all walks of life in Shanxi responded. At that time, except for Taiyuan and a few important towns, the entire Shanxi Province was captured by the rebels. The number of people from all walks of life was 280,000.
People from all walks of life cut their braids and changed clothes, restored Ming Dynasty clothes, accepted appointments from the Shaotian court, supported Emperor Shaotian, and fought against the Qing Dynasty. However, because Shanxi still could not directly border the areas controlled by the Shaotian Dynasty at this time, although Shanxi began to gain momentum
However, after the Qing army counterattacked, the various ministries lacked unified dispatch and command, and the rebel army was not strong. Although there were many people, they were often defeated in one blow when they encountered the elite Eight Banners.
From Liu Qian of Daizhou, Chen Du, Zhang Douguang of Zezhou, Niu Guangtian of Pingshun, Yu Yin of Puzhou, to Han Zhaoxuan and Li Qisheng of Hancheng, Zhang Ding of Wutai Mountain, Zhang Wugui of Hedong, etc., they were all defeated one after another.
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In less than half a year, the rebel army almost took over Shanxi from a small fire that started a prairie fire. Now, the rebel army has fallen and all kinds of birds and beasts have dispersed.
After Yue Le also defeated the rebel armies in Shanxi one after another, he returned to Datong City again.
When he returned, Datong had become an isolated city. Only Zhang Ding of the Shanxi rebel army was defeated and fell into Wutai Mountain. Zhang Wugui and others withdrew to Wangwu Taihang.
Amidst the sound of cannons, Yue Le, who had just been awarded the title of General Xuanwei and Prince Shuo'an for his contribution in pacifying Shanxi, rode to the gate of Datong City.
Signal the guards to shout to the city.
"General Jiang, please come out and answer!"
Jiang Quan stood at the top of the city with his helmet pierced, "Fight if you want, don't talk too much!"
Behind him is Dong Zhining, the military officer of the Ming Dynasty Admonition Academy, who is also the censor of Shanxi and the supervisor of the army in Datong. The siege has been going on so far, and there have been a lot of casualties in the city. Fortunately, Datong is the most important town on the nine sides, and the city is tall and solid.
They also had artillery and so on, which allowed them to hold on until now, but the various rebel armies in Shanxi were defeated one after another, which also made them feel heavy.
What's more, there is not much food and grass in the city.
The Tatars dug ten trenches outside Datong City and built an earthen wall, which was like an iron barrel.
Yue Le suppressed his temper and shouted to Jiang Quan on the city, "I have also heard that there were many misunderstandings before. The general raised his troops because he had no choice but to do so. They were all forced by the Dorgon Azige brothers. Now the court has put an end to the chaos."
Anyway, Azig was also executed for treason, and the current regents, Daishan and Jierhalang, have ordered that as long as the general can repent and turn his back on his crime, he will still be favored as before."
"All the soldiers and generals in Datong City will let bygones be bygones."
Jiang Quan scolded, "Dorgon and Azige brothers died unjustly. This town was forced to return to Er and others due to the situation, and accompanied Azige to conquer Shunying to avenge the late emperor. As a result, Azige treated us like slaves and scolded us at will."
, even if we attack first in a battle and retreat behind us, food and grass are often not supplied.
When Azig was stationed in Daibei, he looted the property of Datong soldiers and people, and even raped women at will with his followers. When my nephew got married, Azig actually led his troops to stop the wedding sedan in the street, and pulled me away just as I was about to get married.
My niece-in-law was kidnapped on the street. After hearing the news, I came to him to argue with him, but he kicked her out. The next day, he brought my nephew-in-law back, but she was already half-dead. How could I endure this hatred?
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"You Tatars not only treat us like cattle and horses, making us do the dirtiest and most tiring work, but you also treat us like dogs and humiliate us!"
Jiang Yan also knew that if he tried to surrender after rebelling against the Qing Dynasty, there would be no good results at all, so even if Yue Le came to ask for surrender, he refused.
"General Jiang, if someone comes to recruit you, you don't have to give any face, but I am General Xuanwei, Prince Heshuo'an, and the Prince of Assistant Government appointed by the emperor. I will not give you any face if I condescend to you like this."
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In the name of the auxiliary prince, I promise to you that as long as you surrender, I will disregard all past grievances and forgive all past crimes. Moreover, the imperial court will still retain your title of Prince of Datong and allow you to come to the capital to support you.
Even, I hereby promise to give Azige’s legitimate daughter to your nephew as his wife to make up for the crimes he committed against your family that day, how about that?”
"Pooh!"
Jiang Yan spat at Yue Le below the city wall.
Although the saliva did not hit his face, Yue Le, the grandson of Nurhaci, looked extremely ugly.
He personally came to surrender, but Jiang Yu also showed no face to him.
On the city, among the generals next to Jiang Gu, some seemed to be a little moved.
The commander-in-chief Yang Zhenwei said from the side, "Why don't you pretend to agree to the King of Lu and let them withdraw their troops to rescue the siege first, so as to gain some breathing space and plan for it slowly?"
Dong Zhining interrupted him directly, "The general's words are wrong. The enemy has been besieging the city for a long time. Although the situation in Shanxi is bad now, the emperor will not sit idly by and let us not save him. As long as we hold on, the Tatars will not be able to attack for a long time.
To continue.
If we pretend to surrender now, I am afraid that the morale of the soldiers will be depleted, and the hearts of the people will be dispersed, and it will be difficult to maintain an empty fortified city."
Dong Zhining took a step forward and directly revealed his identity to Yue Le at the foot of the city.
"Listen to the Tatar leaders below the city. I am the commander of the Military Department of the Ming Dynasty. I am the censor of Shanxi Road and the supervisor of Datong Army. I am Dong Zhining. I, Ningbo, was born madly. I followed the uprising and supported the establishment of the present day.
I came to Datong to comfort the three armies and the people on behalf of the emperor.
Since I came to Datong, I have already seen clearly the treacherous intentions of you and other Tartars. General Jiang and others mistakenly believed your treacherous words and joined you. They also made great contributions to your campaign and were not guilty of any crime. Then not only did they not receive promotions, but they also
Let the people who followed the surrender be displaced and be persecuted and oppressed by your Eight Banners. You will levy and expropriate them wantonly. You will not let the people live and massacre the Han people indiscriminately.
The women of Datong are the most beautiful women in the world, but you, the Eight Banners, plunder and commit adultery at will.
You even dare to kidnap Mr. Jiang’s niece and have her raped in the middle of their marriage, let alone the wives and daughters of other common people?
The commander-in-chief in the city listened,
The whole city of Datong is united and will never surrender!
Don't be arrogant, either. I, Emperor Shaotian of the Ming Dynasty, am wise and powerful, and I will not sit back and let you be arrogant. How many soldiers do you have left now?
Now that we are all here to surround Datong, aren't we afraid that your little emperor in Beijing will be invaded and captured by the great emperor of tomorrow?
If you are wise, withdraw your troops as soon as possible and flee back to your hometown in Liaodong, where the white mountains and black waters are outside the Guan, and you may be able to survive for a few more years!"
Many Datong soldiers on the city wall, whose hair had not grown long after being braided and could only wrap their heads in red scarves, shouted in unison, mocking the Tatars for their short life as grasshoppers and telling them to get out of here.
Yue Le failed to surrender, so he rode back to the camp.
In fact, Yue Le came to recruit troops, which was a helpless move. Although the rebels in most places in Shanxi were defeated one by one, many were only defeated and not completely annihilated. There were even many places still occupied by the rebels.
At this time, there were not many soldiers and horses left in Beijing and Tianjin. Although it was winter and there was no need to worry about the Ming army's navy going directly to Tianjin, the current situation of the Qing army in various places was very bad.
Zhu Yihai moved the capital to Dengzhou, which was like a knife pointed at the throat, making the Qing monarchs and ministers uneasy day and night.
Although Xuzhou and Jinan are still guarding, they are already on the front line. In the east, Denglai controls the sea and mountains, and in the west, there are rebels in eastern Henan and western Shandong. In addition, the Yellow River burst its banks and destroyed the canal. Although it stretches from the north to Xuzhou
On the surface, the front line was still controlled by the Qing army.
But the line between Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Dongping, Dongchang, and Jinan is already very fragile, especially Dongping, which is sometimes blocked and sometimes blocked. Xuzhou is almost becoming an isolated city, and Jinan has also become a front line. Generals like Bolo and Tan Tai
Up to now, we can only stay trapped, but the supply of money, food and equipment has been insufficient. If we continue like this, we won't be able to hold on for long.
Beijing also has a headache now. Xuzhou can no longer give up easily, but it is not easy to defend, let alone attack to open up the situation.
Zhu Yihai was very cunning before. Although he attacked from multiple directions, he would not forcefully attack the important towns of the Qing army. Instead, he would flood everywhere like water, avoiding the real situation and exploiting the weak. He would always fight everywhere. For example, after taking Denglai, he was not strong.
Instead of attacking Jinan or Xuzhou, they sent troops to Liaodong.
But on the other hand, they also instigated Xu Dingguo, Li Jiyu and others to resist the Qing Dynasty anyway, bringing chaos to Henan. What's even more despicable is that they also allowed national treasures to enter Hebei and wander around, creating unrest in Beizhi and the rear.
Having just experienced a drastic change in the central government, the two regents and uncles in Beijing kept writing to Yue Le, hoping that he could quickly pacify Datong, or first send some troops back to defend Beijing to strengthen the defense of the capital.
If the Ming army raids Beijing and Tianjin, Beijing, with its weak military strength, may not be able to defend it.
Moreover, we must always be wary of the Mongols in the north. Tengjisi from the Sunit tribe rebelled and defected to the Mobei Chechen Khan and others. Last year, they joined tens of thousands of troops and went south, and they have robbed several Mongolian tribes in the south.
The Qing army had no time to send troops to the north for conquest, so they could only order the Mongolian princes to send troops to fight on their own, but it did not go well, and all the ministries requested the court to send troops for the conquest.
But the Tatars still have no soldiers.
Once the princes of Monan Mongolia cannot hold on, it will be a disaster if the Chechen Khan and others are killed inside the pass.
Yue Le is under great pressure now.
But facing the strong city of Datong, even though most of the rebels in Shandong were defeated, it still felt difficult to attack and win it with force.
After the final attempt to persuade him to surrender failed, Yue Le looked back at the bright flag fluttering in the wind on Datong City.
He gritted his teeth.
Returning to the camp, he summoned the generals.
"The imperial court asked us to transfer the main force back to Beijing to garrison. I bought another month from the two regent uncles. We must capture Datong within one month, no matter the cost."
"Get ready to attack the city."
Yue Le had no choice at this time. After meeting Zhu Yihai, the Manchu Qing Dynasty realized where their fatal shortcoming was. They had too few troops. Facing such a vast Central Plains, this small force seemed to be stretched thin and even exhausted.
In the past, when facing the Ming army of the Chongzhen Dynasty, these Eight Banners were enough. They were always able to take the initiative and lead the Ming army by the nose. But now, they have become the ones being led by the nose.
For a month, looking at Datong City, he felt completely unsure.
Countless water was poured on the walls of Datong City, forming a thick layer of ice that covered the walls like armor, which greatly increased the defense of the city walls and the difficulty of climbing.
Although it is difficult to fight, they can only fight, otherwise they will be even more passive after the Bohai Sea thaws!
We must fight quickly to recapture Datong!
The trumpet sounded again, and the Qing army launched a full-scale siege!
