Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 497 Ping Liao (1)

The Qing government now has limited military forces, and its main defense direction is the Liaoxi Corridor, which is the Jinzhou defense line. On this defense line, Jirgalang appointed Baiyintu as the general to defend Jinzhou.

Although Baiyintu was defeated by Jiang Xiang in the Battle of Liangxiang, Jirgalang believed that it was excusable because Jiang Xiang had a large number of troops, several times more than Baiyintu. At that time, Baiyintu had more than 4,000 Eight Banners soldiers, and the rest were all Han Army Flags. At that time, the Han Army Flags had already lost their morale.

As for why Ajige was not used, this reckless man, after escaping from Shanhaiguan, returned to Shengjing from Jinzhou and even wanted to ask for the position of regent. Ajige criticized Jirgalang in public more than once in Shengjing, implying that if he were the regent, then the Qing Dynasty's re-entry into the interior would be just around the corner.

Therefore, when Ajige made another drunken rant, Jirgalang personally led the palace guards to arrest Ajige in his mansion.

Afterwards, Jirgalang convened a political meeting to discuss the crimes of King Ying Ajige, and finally decided to imprison him. His son Laoqin was also stripped of his royal title and demoted to Beizi.

However, during his confinement, Ajige not only did not restrain himself in the slightest, but became even more violent and rude. He not only insulted Jirgalang, but even Shunzhi and the Empress Dowager. He also hid weapons in the cell, dug tunnels, contacted his confidants, and claimed that he would set fire to the cell. He also said that he would summon his old subordinates and purge the court. Unfortunately, several of his confidants told Jirgalang what Ajige had said.

Originally, Jirgalang did not want to kill Ajige. After all, Ajige had made great military achievements, and at the critical moment of the Qing Dynasty, it was time to use force. But Ajige was really annoying. Duoduo was already very arrogant, but Ajige was more arrogant than Duoduo, and he did not care about the consequences.

Later, the kings believed that Ajige was extremely rebellious and keeping him alive might cause future troubles, so he should be executed immediately. Shunzhi also hated Ajige, Dorgon's elder brother, so he ordered him to commit suicide and removed him from the clan register. His son Laoqin was also executed.

Jirgalang was deeply worried about the Qing army's big moves. In order to defend the direction of Shanhaiguan, the Qing army deployed heavy troops in this narrow Liaoxi Corridor, sacrificed nearly 100,000 Korean civilians, and built dense defensive fortifications.

For the safety of the Qing Dynasty, Jirgalang turned a blind eye to the small actions of the Russian Kingdom on the border. Those small troops of a few hundred people could not threaten the foundation of the Qing Dynasty at all. Only Meng Jun was the Qing Dynasty's mortal enemy.

This line of defense took advantage of the natural terrain and used manpower to deploy numerous passes and fortresses, artillery batteries, arrow towers, trenches, and fences, forming an intricate network of defense.

Zhao Yongping led his troops out of Shanhaiguan and saw gullies everywhere. He fought for two days and then stopped to report to Meng Jun, saying: "The enemy's defense line is very dense, the trenches are very deep, and there are many water diversions for protection. There are also artillery positions and arrow towers everywhere. If we attack by force, the soldiers will suffer heavy losses!"

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The Khorchin tribe in the central Mongolian desert followed the Qing Dynasty wholeheartedly. When the Qing Dynasty entered the Great Wall, the Khorchin became prosperous. However, when the Qing Dynasty was defeated and retreated from the Great Wall, the Khorchin naturally suffered a backlash.

Borjigit Okesan, from the Khorchin tribe of Mongolia, is a descendant of Genghis Khan. In fact, the Khorchin tribe originally had a grudge against the Qing court.

During the reign of Nurhaci, Khorchin leaders Manggus, Ming'an, Konggor and others led Mongolian cavalry to participate in the war of nine-tribe coalition forces against the Jianzhou Jurchens, but were ultimately defeated by Nurhaci.

After that, the Khorchin tribe felt that Nurhaci would rise, so they took the initiative to ease relations with the Jianzhou Jurchens, and eventually embarked on the path of marriage, placing all their hopes on the Jianzhou Jurchens.

Among the Manchu-Mongol marriages, the earliest and most famous one was Zhezhe, who married Huang Taiji, Wu Keshan's aunt. Later, after Huang Taiji inherited the Khan throne and even proclaimed himself emperor and established the Qing Dynasty, Zhezhe was canonized as the Empress of the Central Palace.

Wu Keshan's sister Bumbutai also married Huang Taiji and gave birth to a son, Fulin, who was the first emperor after the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass. Therefore, Bumbutai was honored as the empress dowager because of her son.

Last year, the Qing court had withdrawn from the Great Wall. In order to deepen the relationship with Khorchin, Jirgalang arranged for Emperor Shunzhi, who was now old enough to get married, to marry Princess Borjigit of the Khorchin tribe.

This Borjigit was the daughter of Wu Keshan. In this way, Wu Keshan's aunt, sister and daughter all had the title of queen.

Wu Keshan was not actually particularly willing to marry off his daughter, but Khorchin was too deeply integrated into the Qing Dynasty, and he could not refuse Jirgalang's proposal. Besides, his sister also wrote to persuade Wu Keshan to work together at this critical juncture.

The Qing court withdrew from the interior of the country, and many people in the tribe were somewhat depressed, but Wu Keshan knew that the crisis was getting closer and closer. Meng Jun would never allow the Qing court to remain outside the Great Wall and threaten Northern Zhili at all times. As for the Khorchin tribe, which was a staunch supporter of the Qing court, Wu Keshan did not think that Meng Jun was a blind man who could not see it.

Wu Keshan was extremely uneasy at this time because a traitor, Gulbuha, had come to the grassland.

Meng Jun sent Huang Cheng as the general and Gulbuha as the deputy general, leading 30,000 cavalrymen to enter the Mongolian desert through Shaohukou.

Although Gulbuha was not a particularly famous figure among the tribes south of the desert, he was able to become a captain, so he could become a familiar face among the tribes south of the desert.

Moreover, Meng Jun had already sent many envoys to secretly contact the tribes south of the desert. Many of these tribes had connections with the envoys of the Qian Dynasty. Even those tribes that believed that the Qing Dynasty could still hold on did not harm the envoys of the Qian Dynasty.

Therefore, with the guidance of Gulbuha and the help of some tribes that secretly defected to the Qian Dynasty, Huang Cheng entered the Mongolian desert south of the desert as if he were at home, and the army rushed straight towards the Khorchin tribe.

Borjigit Chahan, Wu Kesan's younger brother, kept persuading Wu Kesan to move north with his people.

Chahan said to Wu Keshan: "Brother, the Qing Dynasty is no longer viable. Even if this grassland is fertile, we cannot control it!"

When entering the Pass at the beginning, Khorchin sent 20,000 cavalry to follow Dorgon into the Pass. As a result, after so many years, only 4,000 of the 20,000 cavalry went out of the Pass, and the rest died inside the Pass. Those 4,000 people are now still under the control of Jirgalang outside the Pass.

Wu Keshan sighed and said, "Your nephew is the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Khorchin and the Qing Dynasty have long been together for life and death. If the Qing Dynasty is gone, Khorchin will no longer exist."

Chahan said anxiously: "Brother, as long as the people of the tribe are still here, Khorchin will still be here!"

Wu Keshan shook his head and said, "The Qing Dynasty is gone. Even if Khorchin escapes to Mobei, we will be swallowed up by the tribes in Mobei without leaving any residue."

Chahan wanted to persuade him again, but Wu Keshan patted Chahan's shoulder and said in a low voice: "The bloodline of the Khorchin tribe cannot be cut off. Take some people from the tribe and go to Mobei!"